Heir to the Ennead
by brihana25
Summary: With tensions high between SG1 and trust issues plaguing Daniel in the wake of his encounter with Ma'chello's Goa'uld killing devices, the peaceful desert world of Iunu seems to be a perfect first mission back. Complete summary inside. Gen. COMPLETE
1. Prologue

FANDOM: Stargate SG1  
TITLE: Heir to the Ennead  
GENRE: Gen  
CATEGORY: Angst, Drama, H/C, Friendship  
RATING: R  
SEASON: Three (one week after Legacy)  
PAIRING: none  
WORD COUNT: 38,680

DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1, its characters and situations, are copyright MGM, Greenburg/Anderson, Gekko, Top Secret, and Kawoosh! No infringement on, or challenge to, their status is intended. This piece of fiction was written strictly for the entertainment of other fans, and I am gaining no form of compensation for it.

MORE DISCLAIMERS: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or actual places and locations, is purely coincidental.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

My unending and enduring gratitude to ms_3m, for being everything she is, was, and always will be. She was with me from the very first word I typed of this story, five and a half very long years ago. I hope that the end result is at least somewhat close to what she thought it could be.

And thanks to whisper99 for her eyes, ears, and brain, for her excellent proof-reading skills and her love for smacking me in the head with my own stupidity.

If you think this is good, thank her. If you think it sucks, blame me.

SUMMARY: With tensions running high between SG1 and deep-set trust and confidence issues plaguing Daniel in the wake of his encounter with Ma'chello's Goa'uld killing devices, the idyllic and peaceful desert world of Iunu seems to be a perfect first mission back. The people, followers of the goddess Nephthys, welcome the visitors with open arms. But after a massive flood traps SG1 offworld, a case of mistaken identity brings Iunu's darkest secret to light. With SG1 divided in more ways than one, trusted allies turning into enemies, and no way home, what begins as a simple cultural study will become a battle for their very survival.

**Prologue**

He hadn't talked to Daniel in two days.

It was a strange thing for Jack, to have not talked to Daniel in so long. Under normal circumstances, he and Daniel talked all the time. Every day. At least once and usually more than that. Their conversations ranged from galactically important to mundanely trivial, but it didn't matter. The point was that they talked. Almost constantly. About everything.

But circumstances weren't normal, and he hadn't talked to Daniel in two days.

He didn't know which one of them was more responsible for the silence, and he didn't know that it really mattered. It wasn't that he didn't want Daniel around him, because he did, but he didn't want to force Daniel to do anything he didn't want to do. And Daniel had made it clear, the last few times they had spoken, that he wasn't too thrilled with the idea of Jack hanging around. So Jack had backed off because Daniel had wanted him to. That made the distance mutual, didn't it?

It wasn't just Jack that was on the receiving end of Daniel's new "arms length, no closer" attitude about people, either. Sam and Teal'c were having just as hard a time dealing with him. He was pretty sure he'd caught Sam crying about it in her lab a time or two, and Teal'c... well, Teal'c was just being Teal'c. He seemed to be spending a lot of time hanging around outside Daniel's office, though. Daniel would call it hovering, if he noticed it. Jack would call it looming. Teal'c would call it protecting.

Protecting Daniel was something all three of them had gotten very good at doing, without Daniel's knowledge, in recent weeks. They had to be careful about it, very subtle, because if Daniel caught on, he'd blow a fuse. But even still, Jack couldn't help but think that maybe, if he'd started doing protecting Daniel sooner, it wouldn't have been two days since he'd talked to him.

Two weeks earlier, no one would have imagined that Daniel needed to be protected while he was at the SGC. But then again, two weeks earlier, no one would have imagined that Daniel's best friends would throw him in a loony bin and leave him there.

Jack shook his head as he started up the stairs to the Briefing Room. Damn Ma'chello and his "inventions to fight the Goa'uld." He didn't care what a genius the man had been, didn't give a damn that they'd been fighting on the same side. He'd almost taken Daniel away from them twice – once by letting him die, once by making him insane – and he'd damn near killed Teal'c, too. Enough was enough. The next time they found something they thought Ma'chello might have made, Jack was just going to shoot it.

Dr. Fraiser and General Hammond were already seated at the table when he walked into the room, which caught him off guard. A quick glance at his watch told him that not only was he not late, he was actually five minutes early. That meant they'd wanted to talk about something before he got there. That something was going to be Daniel, since he was who the meeting was supposed to be about.

Great.

"General. Doctor," Jack said, looking at each of them in turn as he lowered himself into his chair. "Didn't miss anything, did I?"

"Colonel." Hammond's voice was businesslike, as Jack's had been. Fraiser didn't say anything, but just looked at him across the table and nodded.

Even better.

"So," Jack said after a few seconds of silence. "We're having a meeting, right?"

"Yes, Colonel." Jack really didn't like it when Hammond's voice was so brusque; it usually meant he was forcing himself to be composed because he didn't like what he was about to say. "Dr. Fraiser has been expressing some concerns to me..."

"Let me guess, Daniel sneezed. So that means he's dying of pneumonia or something."

He hadn't meant to say that, and he didn't know why the words had come out of his mouth. Across from him, Janet Fraiser turned six shades of pale and stared down at her lap.

"Colonel!"

"It's all right, General," Fraiser said softly as she slowly looked up. "He has a valid point."

Well, then, maybe he had meant to say it after all.

"I jumped to conclusions about Daniel," she said as she turned her eyes away from the general and looked directly at Jack. "It was a diagnosis that should never have been made, based on incomplete information about a device that, to be completely honest, I still don't know enough about. I knew I was out of my element. That's why I consulted with Dr. Mackenzie."

Jack snorted his opinion of the psychiatrist and turned away. All it took was one glare from Hammond to convince him look back at Fraiser again.

"We're limited in what we can do in any given situation by what we know about the subject. We applied standard mental health protocols on Earth to someone they can't really be applied to, because we don't know how the Stargate affects human physiology."

"That doesn't matter anyway," Jack interrupted. "Because the gate had nothing to do with it."

"I know, sir," she answered without looking away. "Daniel told us he wasn't sick, that there was something else going on. So did you. But we were so sure, Colonel, so sure that we were helping him..."

Jack had to force himself to hold still under Janet's obviously remorseful expression. She was about to do one of the two things that he'd been wanting her to do for the past week, and he figured he owed it to her to at least look her in the eye while she did it.

"We... no, I. I made a mistake, Colonel. And I'm sorry."

Jack nodded briefly, then brushed at an itch on his nose with the back of his hand.

"You tell Daniel that yet?" he asked. "Because it cost him a whole hell of a lot more than it did me."

"Dr. Fraiser and I were just discussing that, Colonel," Hammond answered. His tone had lost most of its edge, telling Jack that the General Hammond who understood his people had taken over from the one who commanded them. "We both feel that an actual apology might damage the doctor/patient relationship..."

"What about your friendship?" Jack asked Janet directly. "That doesn't matter?"

"Not as much as that relationship does, sir, no." Janet shook her head. "If he doesn't trust me as a physician, I can't treat him if he's sick or injured. I'd rather be able to help him if needs me than go out for a drink with him after work."

Jack considered her words and then nodded his head. She had a very good point.

"So if you can't apologize to him, how do you make it clear to him that you're sorry?"

Janet looked up at Hammond, who nodded.

"I'm withdrawing the medical hold I placed Daniel under when he came back from Mental Health. He's free to go back in the field whenever you think he's ready to."

Jack's first reaction was happiness, and he pumped his fists in the air in celebration. Then he realized that Janet hadn't completely removed the restrictions keeping Daniel on base, she'd just shifted them from herself to Jack. Oh, that was sneaky. And exactly the kind of thing that he expected from Janet Fraiser. It was up to Jack both where Daniel went and when he went there.

And once he realized that he had the ability to make that decision, he wasn't so sure he wanted to.

"Um... General..."

Hammond gave him a small smile and slid a manilla folder across the table to him. "Look at it, Jack. I think it might be a good idea."

Jack looked down at the folder and was unsurprised to see a planetary designation stamped on the front of it.

P3X-009

He opened it and flipped through the pages quickly, stopping to glance at the pictures that the MALP had sent back and reading through some of the information. There were no measurable amounts of any resources that anyone would be interested in, either human or Goa'uld. No naquadah, no trinium. And, the best part to Jack, no signs of a Goa'uld presence, past or present.

"So what are we looking for?" Jack asked.

"Nothing," General Hammond answered.

Jack looked up in surprise.

"There's nothing there, Jack. Nothing but a living, breathing, in-the-flesh society from ancient Egypt."

Jack smiled in understanding. "Sending him on vacation?"

"No. Easing him back in slowly." Hammond cleared his throat. "Actually, easing all of you back in slowly. Unless you feel like denying that you all need this, Colonel."

And just like that, Hammond the commander was back.

"No, sir. You're right, we do." Jack closed the folder and picked it up. "So, when do we leave and how long are we gone?"

"The specialists have scheduled this as a tentative four day mission, with plenty of room to expand if warranted. And we can fit the briefing in this afternoon, if you think you'll be ready to go in the morning."

"Yes, sir," Jack answered with an enthusiastic nod. He pushed away from the table and stood with the folder in his hand. "I'll go round 'em all up."

He was turning to leave when he noticed Dr. Fraiser still sitting at the table with her head down, staring at her hands.

"Hey, Doc?"

"Yes, Colonel?" Her head snapped up and toward him quickly.

"I just wanted to say... I know why you did what you did. And I don't blame you."

"Thank you," she said with a sincere smile.

"And if I'd believed for a minute that you weren't convinced you were doing what was best for Daniel, one of us wouldn't be here any more."

The smile he got from that was heartfelt. And he returned it as he walked out the door.

Jack understood the necessity of having a doctor around who was willing to ignore what they said in favor of what they needed. And in a really screwed up way, putting Daniel in that place might have actually saved his life, because even if they were wrong about what was causing it, they were right about what it was doing to him. Daniel hadn't been crazy, but he had been sick, and it didn't really matter that the source of his sudden problems was alien. It had messed with his mind enough that they'd thought they needed to take his glasses away so he wouldn't... no. Not going down that road again.

It struck Jack as odd that it had taken Janet two weeks to release Daniel, but less than a week to release Teal'c. Junior had come damn close to dying, which meant that Teal'c had come damn close to dying, but once that protein marker fooled the little buggers into thinking they'd done their job, it hadn't taken long for either of them to recover. Teal'c had been up and around again, with no sign that he'd even been sick, within a day. With Daniel, the opposite had been true. He'd seemed fine for the first day, but had gone downhill quickly after that.

But then again, Teal'c hadn't spent four days having his system pumped full of mind-altering drugs that he didn't actually need. And Teal'c hadn't spent the better part of two days alternating between puking his guts out and crying in pain from involuntary tremors and muscle cramps. Teal'c hadn't spent a week holed up in his office with all of the lights on, reading and working and pushing himself until he passed out in Jack's arms in the middle of a sentence, because he was too damn scared of waking up and finding out that everything after his release from the hospital had been a hallucination to let himself go to sleep.

No, none of that had happened to Teal'c.

Jack had been there to see all of it, because it had happened before Daniel decided that he didn't want him around anymore. And there'd been times – when one of the tremors made him bite his tongue so hard that he bled all over himself, or when he was so weak and throwing up so violently that he couldn't even stand up on his own – that Jack had doubted he'd make it through it at all.

But Daniel had made it through. He'd survived, and he'd come back where he belonged. At least, he was mostly there. The folder in Jack's hand would go a long way toward bringing the rest of him back. Sam and Teal'c would go along with whatever Jack told them, and he knew that. They wouldn't even question the reasons for the mission. They'd both told him that they were ready to get back in the field again, and he didn't doubt that they'd jump at the chance to do it.

All he had to do was talk to Daniel.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

There wasn't much difference between one desert planet and the next.

When SG1 stepped through the stargate, Jack's first impression was that they could have been on Abydos and it wouldn't have surprised him, if not for the fact that the gate was in the middle of nowhere instead of inside a pyramid. And in the near distance, maybe half a mile away, he could see a wide river snaking its way across the barren landscape. But aside from those two things, there was nothing noticeably different between the two worlds. There was nothing but sand as far as the eye could see, and he wondered if Daniel felt as comfortable there as he did on his adopted home planet.

Jack, Sam and Teal'c fanned out on the dais as Daniel went to check the DHD. Jack noticed almost immediately that the people on the planet didn't use their gate much, if at all. The desert sand had blown and drifted up around it, half-burying the dais and almost completely covering the stairs, and the DHD was so buried that Daniel had to kneel down just to be able to reach it.

"This looks like a happening place," Jack remarked.

He got two of the three responses he was expecting. Sam grinned at him across her shoulder. Teal'c looked back at him in that way he had of making people feel really, really stupid. But Daniel, who should have fired back some snide little comment of his own, didn't even look at him.

Jack shook his head. Things were not starting well.

He watched Daniel stand up from the DHD and decided to try again.

"All good there, Daniel?"

Daniel nodded without speaking, and Jack had to stop himself from sighing. That had been pretty well the same way their conversation the day before had gone, too. Jack had talked, and Daniel had nodded at him, or shook his head, or rolled his eyes without speaking. Jack had wondered at the time if it was an intentional thing he was doing, or if he wasn't aware of it.

But they were supposed to be working their way back to normal, and Jack had never been one to give up easily.

"Okay, so, Daniel, how far, and which way?"

The look in Daniel's eyes made two things perfectly clear to Jack. First, he was fully aware that he wasn't talking and second, he wanted it that way. Daniel hadn't stopped talking to Jack because of some deep-seated defense mechanism or any other involuntary psychological thing. He'd stopped talking to Jack because he was mad at him. He was giving him the silent treatment.

Daniel was throwing a temper tantrum.

The parent in Jack was telling him to yell at Daniel to knock it off, but the commanding officer in him saw Sam and Teal'c standing there, watching to see what he was going to do. And the friend in him had to admit that Daniel had a right to be mad at him. So he bit his tongue, rubbed his forehead, and sighed.

"Daniel?"

Daniel shook his head and looked down at the ground, and when he looked back up, the open defiance that had been in his eyes was gone. He didn't look angry anymore; he just looked tired. Resigned. Defeated.

Jack hated it.

"Two miles," Daniel finally answered, gesturing at one of the hundreds of indistinguishable dunes that surrounded them. "Two miles west."

Jack nodded once and motioned Teal'c forward with his hand. "All right. Teal'c, you take point. We walk west until we run into something."

Sam jogged down the few visible steps of the gate platform in time to catch up with Daniel, who'd already turned to follow Teal'c out across the sand. Jack took his place at the end of the line, far enough back to stay out of the conversation but still close enough to hear it.

"Aren't you excited?" Sam asked. "I couldn't believe it when I read the mission briefing."

"Believe what?"

"We're walking right into the Old Kingdom!" Jack had to smile at Sam's enthusiasm, and he didn't even care if it was real or if she was just putting it on for Daniel's sake. If anyone would be able to break through the pissed-off – and injured – child on the surface and get through to the scientist underneath, it would be Sam. "Everything you've ever studied, Daniel, and it's here. Why aren't you more excited?"

Daniel smiled, a small one at first, but when he looked at Sam and saw the wide grin on her face, it grew.

"Okay, yeah. Yeah, I'm a little excited."

"A little? Come on, Daniel."

"Okay, a lot," he admitted reluctantly. "How much of the cultural information did you read?"

"All of it," Sam answered immediately. "I think it sounds fascinating. What's the one thing you think we absolutely have to see while we're here?"

"Oh, that's easy." And just like that, Daniel was Daniel again. Jack owed Sam, big time, for doing in two minutes what he'd failed to do in two weeks. "The MALP took pictures of what looks like a Sun Temple, and if the estimated size calculations are right, then it's at least twice as big as the Temple of Amun at Karnak. The implications are astounding, really..."

Jack's smile got wider with every word that came out of Daniel's mouth. Plain, boring desert or not, the place might not be so bad after all.

* * *

Jack didn't know if the implications were really astounding, but the size of Daniel's temple certainly was.

SG1 was lined up against the top of a dune on their stomachs, still half a mile from the edge of the village and looking down on it. The village itself was in a valley of sorts, a natural depression in the center of a ring of dunes that rose above it. And in the center of the village stood what had to be the largest structure that Jack had ever seen.

"Look, Sam," Daniel said. "Mastabas."

"What are mastabas?" she asked.

"Burial vaults. And over there?" Jack looked to his right, past Teal'c and Sam, and saw Daniel. He was pointing into the village, showing Sam the different structures he'd identified. "See how the houses are different? How they're sectioned off? They really do separate the classes, but there's no walls between the sections. Just the streets."

"What's that in front of the temple?" Sam asked, reaching into her pack and pulling out her binoculars.

"It's a black pyramid," Daniel answered breathlessly. "I'll have to see it closer to be sure, but from here it looks exactly like the Fifth Dynasty pyramids at Abusir on Earth. I can't believe this is all here!"

Jack smiled to himself once more. Daniel was acting like a child again, but more like a kid in a candy store on Christmas morning than one who'd been kicked repeatedly while being told his puppy had been run over by a car.

It was a vast improvement.

Teal'c had obviously noticed the change that had come over Daniel since their arrival, because he was looking at Jack and nodding his silent approval. Sam was doing a damn good job of pulling Daniel back out of himself, Teal'c was on-board with the situation even if he didn't know the specifics of why they were there, and Daniel was having a blast. The best part was that they were less than an hour into a four day mission, and things were going so much more smoothly than Jack could have asked for.

And he'd been worried.

"Uh... Colonel?"

Jack looked back over at Sam, saw her pulling her binoculars away from her eyes, and the look on her face brought all of Jack's worry right back.

"Report, Carter."

"Locals, sir," she said, passing the binoculars to him. "You might want to take a look."

"Well, we knew it was inhabited," he said as he held the binoculars up to his eyes. He gave them a few seconds to adjust their focus on the group of people he'd picked to look at.

Crap.

"There should be a variety of different professions," Daniel was saying. "Farmers, craftsmen, scribes, priests..."

"Jaffa."

Jack handed the binoculars to Teal'c with a frustrated huff. "Just once," he said. "Is it so much to ask Just one time I want the mission guys to say there's no Goa'uld and have there actually be no Goa'uld. Why is that so damn hard?" He saw Teal'c's forehead furrow above the binoculars. "T? You know who they work for?"

"I do not," Teal'c answered as he lowered the binoculars. Daniel reached for them, and Sam passed them across to him. "I do not recognize that symbol."

"Neb-Hut," Daniel said suddenly. He lowered the binoculars and looked at his teammates, all of whom were looking at him questioningly.

"Neb who?" Jack asked.

"Neb-Hut," Daniel repeated. "Nephthys, if you prefer."

"Are you certain, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

"Well, that's her symbol," Daniel insisted, handing the binoculars back to Sam, who held them up to look through them again.

"I have not heard of a Goa'uld by this name," Teal'c said.

"Well, I'm not really surprised, given what we know about her husband." Daniel shrugged and turned to look back down on the village.

Jack waited for more of an explanation, but there didn't seem to be one coming any time soon. "What do we know about her husband?" Again, there was no answer. "Daniel?"

"Yeah?" Daniel answered distractedly.

"Who's her husband?"

Sam nudged Teal'c in the ribs with her elbow, handed him the binoculars, and pointed to something in the distance. Jack could see her whispering something in Teal'c's ear as he investigated whatever it was she'd pointed out.

"Um..." Daniel glanced around and looked incredibly nervous all of a sudden. He really didn't want to answer that question for some reason.

"Daniel?" Jack prompted.

"Seth?"

Jack didn't say anything at first, just looked at Daniel and blinked. Sam and Teal'c were absorbed in a private conversation between them, and didn't seem to be hearing a word they said. Daniel simply flashed Jack a shy smile and shrugged.

"Are you guessing?" Jack finally asked.

"What? No!" Daniel protested. "No, I know. Nephthys was Seth's wife."

Jack dug his elbows into the sand dune they were leaning against and massaged his forehead with his fingers. The news just kept getting better and better.

"So, just so we're clear here. The mission guys said there were no Goa'uld here, but they sent us to a planet full of Jaffa. And now you're telling me that these Jaffa serve the widow of the snakehead that we just killed?"

Daniel bit his lip and nodded his head, then turned away quickly.

"Well, that's just peachy." Jack pressed his hands against the dune and pushed himself down it. "Come on, kids. Time to go home."

"O'Neill."

"Colonel, wait."

Jack stopped where he was and turned back to his team. All three of them were scooting down the sand beside him, and he waited for them to reach him. They formed a small circle seated on the side of the dune.

"What?"

Sam glanced quickly at Teal'c before speaking. "Teal'c and I don't think we should leave, sir."

Jack shook his head and blinked in confusion. "Did you not hear what I just said? What Daniel just said?"

"No, sir. I mean, yes, sir, we heard. But we don't think there's a Goa'uld here."

"Jaffa, Carter." Jack insisted. "Where's there's Jaffa, there's Goa'uld."

"Not necessarily, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "I did see the symbol of this Nephthys on the heads of several men in the village, but I see no armor. There are no staff weapons. These Jaffa are not in a state of battle readiness."

"He's got a point, Jack," Daniel put in. "They're walking around in their normal clothes."

"The Jaffa on Chulak aren't always in armor, either," Jack pointed out.

"You are correct. But these Jaffa do not carry symbiotes."

"How do you know that?"

"They wear no shirts, and they have no outward signs of a womb."

Jack took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair as he considered Teal'c's words carefully. "So what does that mean, exactly? How does that mean there's no Goa'uld here?"

"It does not prove that there is not one, but it does not lend support to a theory that there is. If they have no wombs, then this means there are no symbiotes for them to carry."

"Also," Carter said, "there are no resources here that a Goa'uld would be interested in. Not just naquadah or trinium, sir, but nothing. There's no gold, no silver, no minerals that would be in any way valuable."

Jack took a deep breath and let it out, and Daniel took the opportunity to speak up.

"And it's not on the Abydos Cartouche. This is one of Sam's cold-dial planets, which means that the Goa'uld most likely don't even know it exists."

Jack gestured at the dune, indicating the village behind it. "Then how did they get here?"

"The Ancients?" Daniel said. "The Asgard? It wouldn't be the first time we've come across a culture that's been planted by one of the benevolent races."

Jack nodded briefly. "Wouldn't be the first time that people we thought were good guys turned out to be the bad guys, either."

Jack snapped his hat against his leg before he put it back on. He was considering their words, weighing them against what his own gut was telling him. He wanted to tell them they could just stay, because Daniel wasn't the only one who needed a nice, easy mission for a change. They all needed this. And four days in the sun, with no real mission and no real responsibilities, sounded great.

But there were Jaffa in that village, symbiotes or no, staff weapons or no. The soldiers of their enemy. And he couldn't just ignore that.

"If there was a way to talk to one of the villagers without strolling into a village full of potentially dangerous Jaffa, then maybe..."

"Greetings, travelers!"

All four members of SG1 turned their heads toward the sound of the cheerful voice.

There was a man standing on the crest of the dune above them, with his arms open wide and a large and very friendly smile on his face. He wore a long white robe, and he had a leopard skin draped across his shoulder. When he saw that they were all looking at him, he spoke again.

"Greetings."

Daniel shook his head, confused. "How do you... you speak our language."

Jack glanced across at Daniel and cocked an eyebrow, unsure whether he'd just asked a pointless question or made a very obvious statement. Daniel simply shrugged back at him.

The man on the dune smiled. "It is the language of the Violet Mother. She has taught it to us since we were children," he explained. "So you do understand me?"

Daniel nodded quickly, and Jack could hear the excitement in his voice. "Yes, yes, we understand you perfectly. You speak the same language we do."

"You have come through the Chappa'ai?" the man asked. "You are travelers from a distant land?"

"Yes, we are," Daniel answered. He pushed himself to his feet as he settled into a familiar and comfortable role, that of team diplomat and communicator. "We were just discussing whether or not we could enter your village."

"Yes," the man responded with an enthusiastic nod. The longer he talked to Daniel, to wider his smile grew. "Yes, you must come. The feast will begin at sundown, and the people will be elated that you have arrived."

"There's no need for a feast," Daniel began, but the man interrupted him.

"Nonsense! The feast will be held as it is every year on this night. The coming of the morrow is highly anticipated by all."

Daniel seemed to accept that answer, because he nodded his head with a smile.

"Oh, of course. If it's an annual event, that's different. I'm Daniel," he said, reaching out a hand for the man to grasp. The man backed away quickly, almost in fear, and Daniel let his hand fall to his side. "These are my friends – Jack, Sam and Teal'c. Are we all welcome in your village?"

"Yes, of course you are," the man said. He was looking Daniel up and down, not predatorily but certainly more familiarly than Jack was comfortable with. Almost possessively. "I am Niuserre. I am Wer-Meu of the goddess, the divine Nephthys."

Jack saw Daniel freeze at the word. It didn't last long, only for a second, but it was more than enough for Jack.

"Daniel?" he asked. "What's Wer-Meu?"

"Priest," Daniel explained with a smile. "He's a priest. The high priest actually."

"Of the goddess, Nephthys," Jack added.

"Yes, she who is always with us, looking down on us and protecting us. Our goddess is kind and gracious and good."

Jack rolled his eyes, but then took the chance to ask the one question he really needed answered. "But is she here?"

Niuserre looked at him in an incredibly condescending manner, and Jack bristled. Daniel got beaming smiles and enthusiasm, but he got arrogance?

"The goddess is all around us," Niuserre said. "Do you not see her in the sand that blows past your feet? In the clouds that float across the sky? In the river that flows and gives life to our land?"

Jack leaned forward slightly, so that he could speak directly into Daniel's ear. "Is he for real?" he whispered.

"He's a priest, Jack," Daniel whispered back. "He has to believe in her, but he's not talking about her like she's real. She's an ideal, a perfect image in his mind."

Daniel was so earnest in his belief, and Sam and Teal'c in theirs, that Jack found himself wavering. It went against every instinct he had, but when he looked at it logically, his team had to be right. There was nothing on that planet to attract a Goa'uld's attention, and nothing to indicate that this Nephthys person had ever been there. He didn't like the priest guy much at all, but he seemed harmless enough. And even if he wasn't, SG1 was heavily armed and more than willing to defend themselves – and each other – if necessary.

What could four days really hurt?

"All right," Jack admitted reluctantly. "I'm thinking we might go ahead and give this a try. But if there's a Goa'uld hiding under the bridge waiting to eat us, Daniel, so help me..."

"It's a desert. There are no bridges." Daniel flashed him a quick smile before turning back to Niuserre.

"There's a river," Jack countered under his breath.

Daniel ignored him.

"Niuserre," he said. "If I may, we are from a very distant land, and we do not know the name of this one."

"Oh!" Niuserre actually flushed from embarrassment. "So excited was I at your arrival that I forgot to call it by name." Niuserre spread his arms again, gold trinkets and jewelry clinking as he moved.

"Greetings, weary travelers. Welcome to Iunu."

Daniel smiled thinly and held up his index finger, asking Niuserre for patience. "Give us just one minute, please."

He spun around and walked quickly to Jack, grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. Sam and Teal'c climbed to their feet as well, and the four of them formed a tight circle. Niuserre was still standing on the top of the dune, looking down at them, but Jack doubted that he could hear their conversation.

"Yes, Daniel?"

"Iunu, Jack. Iunu!"

"Bless."

"No!" Daniel's frustration was real, and Jack felt bad for causing it, but at the same time, it was the first time Daniel had talked to him normally since they'd arrived. "Iunu is another name for Heliopolis."

It was obvious from Daniel's expression that he was expecting them to immediately fill in their own blanks, but Jack wasn't seeing whatever it was he was supposed to see. Teal'c spoke up, saving him the effort.

"That is the name Ernest Littlefield gave to the planet he was stranded on."

"Yes," Daniel confirmed with the nod of his head. "Yes, it is."

"And it wasn't on the Abydos Cartouche, either," Sam added.

"Nope."

Daniel's grin was enormous, and Jack thought at that moment that he'd do just about anything to keep it that way.

"You think they're related?" he asked.

"I don't know," Daniel admitted. "But it's a lot of coincidences, don't you think? Two planets with the same name..."

"But the people that lived on that planet originally didn't name it Heliopolis," Sam pointed out. "Dr. Littlefield did."

"Because it was a center of knowledge and learning," Daniel said. "What if the locals named this place the same thing, for the same reason?" He turned and looked at Jack directly, blue eyes staring intensely. "What if there's a device here, Jack? A device like the one Ernest found?"

Jack considered that for a moment. He remembered the lengths Daniel had been willing to go to just to study that first device, the fact that he'd been more than willing to be stranded on Ernest's planet forever just for a chance to learn everything it contained. And he remembered his own experiences with another knowledge repository left lying around by the Ancients.

"What if there's one of those head-sucker things, too?"

Daniel shook his head. "Then I won't use it. Obviously. But if there's a holographic device like Ernest's? If we can find one on a peaceful planet, and I have the time I need to study it... Jack, think about it. The benefits of that knowledge, the things we could learn. And if there's a chance, even a small one, and we can take advantage of it?"

Jack nodded slowly. He had to admit that Daniel had a point. He didn't have to like it, but he did have to concede it.

"All right," he said. "All right, Daniel, you win. We'll stay. But the first sign of weirdness, and I mean any weirdness, we're out of here. Got it?"

Daniel nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I got it."

"Okay. So, go make nice with the priest guy."

Jack couldn't help but smile when Daniel turned and ran to do just that.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Niuserre hadn't been lying when he said that the feast would begin at sundown.

Jack poked at his plate with his fingers, a bit uncertain about eating the food even though it smelled wonderful. The rest of his team seemed to be relaxing into the situation, eating and talking with their hosts like they'd known them their whole lives. But Jack couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was looming just beyond the horizon.

"Where do you think all the fish came from?" he asked absently.

Daniel turned to him with the same expression Jack imagined he'd give a small child. "There's a river," he said, quoting Jack's own words from earlier in the day. The ironic smile on his face made it clear to Jack that Daniel had heard the crack after all.

Jack sighed as Daniel turned away from him and back to Niuserre, and Jack took the opportunity to study their surroundings once more.

The significance of the event was still a mystery, despite Jack's insistence that they needed to know what was going on. Daniel had asked Niuserre repeatedly exactly what was being celebrated, but all the priest would say was that it was an annual feast that had been being planned for weeks.

There were dozens of tables arranged at the base of the black pyramid in the center of the village, all of them filled to overflowing with fish, dates, bread and wine, and the entire population seemed to have turned out for it. Daniel had noted more than once that the laborers and upper class were seated at the same tables, sharing the same food, and letting their children run around and play together. Apparently the civilization that had developed on that world had all but eradicated classism, and everyone was treated equally, no matter what their station.

The only exception to that rule seemed to be Niuserre.

The table SG1 had been seated at was enormous, easily large enough for a dozen more people than currently occupied it, and before the sun had gone down, the shadow of the pyramid had fallen directly across it. Jack didn't doubt for a second that the placement was intentional, because it was obviously what passed for a VIP table.

Niuserre sat at the head of it, and the amount of food the villagers had placed in front of him made it fairly obvious who the most important person in their lives actually was. Jack had exerted enough influence over the seating arrangements to keep SG1 together. He'd had to do it through Daniel, of course, because at best Niuserre didn't seem to care that Jack existed, and at worst he seemed to actively dislike him. So Jack was seated to the priest's left with Daniel directly across the table from him. Carter was sitting at Jack's side, and thanks to another small favor that he'd gotten Daniel to agree to, Teal'c was at Daniel's.

Next to Teal'c sat a Jaffa that nearly matched him in size; according to the gold symbol of Nephthys on his forehead, he was First Prime. Introductions had been brief, but Jack remembered Niuserre introducing him as Saq'ar. Across from Saq'ar, next to Sam, sat Saq'ar's wife, Dashu.

The conversations at the table seemed to be going well. Or, at least, they'd been going on for quite a while. He could hear Carter next to him, talking to Dashu about medicinal plants and healing technology, including a sarcophagus that apparently existed somewhere on the planet but was forbidden for the humans to use. Teal'c was deep in conversation with Saq'ar about something, and even though Jack couldn't hear a single word of it, it looked important. Jack trusted both Carter and Teal'c to alert him if anything pinged their danger senses, and so far neither had, so Jack was more than willing to let them keep talking.

The one conversation at the table that he was most interested in, though, was the one Daniel was having with Niuserre. Whether by accident or by design, Jack was far enough away from both of them that he couldn't hear a single word they said, and he didn't like that at all.

There was something off about that priest. He couldn't put his finger on it, couldn't even begin to explain it, but he didn't trust the man as far as he could throw him. He'd been far too interested in Daniel from the very beginning, much too familiar for someone he'd never met before, and he seemed to be one of those people who had to be constantly touching the person he was talking to – his hand was always on Daniel's arm, or his shoulder, or his hand. And overly-friendly aliens, priest or otherwise, taking an interest in Daniel was something that never sat well with him. There were just too many things that could go wrong, too many ulterior motives that they could have, and Jack worried that he couldn't plan for them all.

Never mind that Daniel seemed comfortable around him. Jack didn't like him, and knew himself well enough to admit that he probably never would.

He picked up a piece of the fish on his plate and put it in his mouth absentmindedly, not even realizing he'd done so until he tasted it. It was better than he'd expected, and he took another bite almost immediately.

He glanced around the table once more, watching his team do what they did best. All three were at ease with the situation and seemed to already be settling in for the next several days. None of them looked worried, not even Teal'c. Jack found himself thinking that maybe he was just being overly cautious, that maybe the Ma'chello thing still had him on edge, because so far, Iunu didn't seem like a dangerous place at all. If anything, it seemed like exactly what it was intended to be: a clean, simple, uncomplicated first mission back.

And the fish was actually pretty damn good.

* * *

It was another three hours of mingling with the natives before Jack finally gathered his team around him. They assembled next to one of the recently vacated smaller tables to the right of the one they'd eaten at. He glanced around to make certain that none of the villagers were within earshot.

"So, kids, what did we learn tonight?" he asked.

Carter spoke up first. "Dashu said she's willing to show me the medical technology that she has access to, and teach me about the herbs and roots they use for basic medicines."

"What about that sarcophagus she mentioned?"

Jack didn't miss the way Daniel's back stiffened at that, but he'd been expecting it. He also knew that it was something Daniel needed to be aware of, so that if he ran across it, he wouldn't be surprised. It had been almost a year since his nearly-fatal addiction to one of the damn things, and he'd not shown any outward signs of relapsing, but then again, there hadn't been many opportunities for him to stumble across one unsupervised.

Carter shook her head slowly. "She says there's one here, sir, but she doesn't know where it is."

"Everyone keep your eyes open for that, then," Jack said. "I doubt it's just lying around waiting for us to walk into it, but you never know. And the R&D guys at Area 51 are just itching to take one apart and figure out what makes it tick."

"And for an ancient culture, they seem to be pretty progressive overall," Carter continued. "First there's the fact that their healer is a woman. And Dashu told me there's a teacher in the village, another woman, who teaches girls and boys equally."

"Actually," Daniel put in, "they're incredibly progressive. It's not just the lack of serious division between the sexes, either, even though that's remarkable on its own. The different sections of the village aren't separated by anything more than roads, the classes exist side-by-side and socialize with each other, and it's in their faith system, too."

"How so?" Jack usually wasn't all that interested in lectures on offworld religions, but if it would give him some insight into Niuserre, then it might be worth listening to.

"Well, Niuserre knows that Nephthys isn't an actual goddess."

Jack came to full attention then. "How does he know that?"

Daniel shrugged. "I don't know. But he does. He told me that they worship her because she's earned it, not because she demands it. And he knows that her powers aren't anything more than advanced technology."

Jack tilted his head in confusion. "She didn't demand it?"

"Saq'ar told me the same," Teal'c added. "The Jaffa that wear her symbol do so out of reverence and respect, not fear. It is not required for the men of this village to become Jaffa if they do not choose to do so. I was also correct about there being no Goa'uld larva on this planet. According to Saq'ar, the last Jaffa to carry a symbiote died several hundred years ago."

Jack scratched his head in confusion. "That can't be right, can it? A benevolent Goa'uld? Is there such a thing?"

Daniel shrugged. "It's also possible that she's just been gone from here for so long that they don't remember exactly what she was. Niuserre talks about her in the present tense, but the things he says implies distance. He talks like she exists, like he knows she's real, but I honestly don't think he's ever met her."

"Did he explain how they ended up here, then?"

"A little bit," Daniel said with a small nod. "The legend says that she was banished here by Seth for defying him, for taking sides with Osiris against him. That's incredibly close to the myths about her on Earth, and I'd really like to get some more information about what exactly happened. He tells me the stories are on the walls of the temple, and he's offered to take me there, so..."

Jack shook his head immediately. "Not tonight, Daniel."

"Why not?"

"Because it's late. We'll bed down for the night, and you and I can check that temple out in the morning."

"Jack..."

"In the morning. After sleep." He turned toward Teal'c and Carter. "You're doing the medical thing tomorrow, right, Carter?"

"Yes, sir." Sam glanced at Daniel, and the expression on her face told Jack that he didn't want to turn around. He hadn't really needed her to convey the fact that Daniel was pissed at him, but he was grateful to her for doing it just the same. "She's actually invited me to stay the night at their home, so we can discuss things a bit more in-depth tonight and get started early in the morning."

"Teal'c?"

"I have received a similar invitation to Saq'ar's home," Teal'c said. "He wishes me to inspect his troops at dawn."

Jack leaned against the table they were standing next to. "I thought you said they weren't real soldiers?"

"I said that they do not seem to be at a state of battle readiness, and they are not. He has simply never had an opportunity to receive an outside perspective on his training methods, and he wishes for me to express mine."

Jack nodded in understanding. "All right. So then, threat assessment?"

Carter and Daniel shook their heads in unison, and Teal'c said, "I do not believe there to be any threat from these people."

Jack took just a minute to consider everything he'd just been told. He trusted his team implicitly when it came to examining and feeling out potential threats, and this time would be no different. If Teal'c, Carter and Daniel all three thought splitting up for the night was safe, then that was exactly what they'd do.

"Okay. Carter and Teal'c, you go shmooze with the First Prime and his wife. Me and Daniel will set up camp just outside the..."

"Daniel Jackson!"

Jack managed to keep himself from cringing when he heard the priest's voice behind him, but he couldn't quite banish the wave of irritation that washed over him. Keeping in mind that they were going to be on that planet for another three days, and that angering the town's most important citizen was probably an incredibly bad idea, he forced a fake smile onto his face before he turned around.

But the smile on Niuserre's face grated on his nerves almost instantly.

"Niuserre," Daniel greeted easily.

"I have come to extend to you an invitation," the priest said. "I would be honored if you would consider taking quarter in my home during your stay on Iunu."

Jack's grated nerves were immediately raw, and when he saw Daniel opening his mouth to answer, he jumped forward and cut him off.

"We accept," Jack announced. "Your place has got to be more comfortable than a sand dune, right?"

Niuserre looked both shocked and offended that Jack had invited himself along with Daniel, but as far as Jack was concerned, he could just deal with it. He knew that if worse came to worst, Daniel could explain it away as a cultural difference, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that. The priest had shown an almost overwhelming tendency to accept any and everything Daniel said without question, so if Daniel backed Jack up, the matter would be resolved.

He just wished he knew whether or not Daniel would actually back him up.

"We'd be honored," Daniel said slowly, carefully, and with an awkward smile. "Thank you. Could you give us a few moments, and then we'll join you?"

Niuserre nodded deeply and moved away.

Daniel spun around. "Jack..."

Jack held his hand up in the air and cut him off. "SOP, Daniel, you know that. Carter and Teal'c are doubled up at Saq'ar's house, so you're stuck with me. We'll meet up again in the morning right back here, all right?"

Daniel shook his head angrily, picked his pack up from the ground under the table, and stormed off. Jack turned to Carter and jerked his head in Daniel's direction. She grabbed her own pack with a quick nod and followed after him.

Jack sighed deeply and stepped closer to Teal'c.

"I know you guys are saying it's safe here, T, but I gotta tell ya, I just can't shake this feeling that there's something wrong."

Teal'c tilted his head slightly. "It is obvious that we have not yet returned to our previous level of comfort in each other's company," he said. "Could that be this 'something' that is wrong? Is it our current mission that troubles you, O'Neill, or our last?"

"I don't know," Jack admitted as he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"What is it you require of me?"

Jack opened his eyes and let his hands drop to his sides. "Just keep your eyes open," he said. He picked his pack up and slung it over his shoulder. "Anything that seems out of place, anything that strikes you as wrong, you let me know."

"Of course, O'Neill," Teal'c answered. "I do feel a measure of comfort on this world, but I would never allow my personal feelings to interfere with our mission here."

Jack patted him lightly on the arm as he turned away.

"And if we could all do that," he said, "then there wouldn't be a problem in the first place."

* * *

He knew that eavesdropping was rude. He knew that spying on their host was bad form. He knew that if Daniel caught him doing it, he'd be in even worse standing with him than he already was.

But none of that stopped Jack from standing just inside the door to Niuserre's garden, holding two cups of coffee he'd just made over an open fire, and listening to what Daniel and the priest were talking about.

"How long have your people been here?"

"From the beginning of history itself," Niuserre said. "More than one hundred and seventy generations."

Jack did the calculation in his head, and wasn't surprised to realize that Niuserre was saying they'd been on the planet for more than four thousand years. He'd read the cultural mission report much more thoroughly than he normally did, and he remembered it being stated that the Old Kingdom, the era that this world had evolved from, had disappeared from Earth at right around the same time.

"The only record we have of the Before Time is written on the walls of the temple our originators built to our goddess. I know that you would find these writings to be of great interest to you, young one."

The hair on the back of Jack's neck stood up at that. He didn't want to jeopardize relations with the priest by reacting too harshly, but he did shift his position in the door so that he could see what was going on outside.

Daniel was standing near the top terrace of the multi-tiered garden, only one or two steps down, looking out at the sunrise over the village. Niuserre was standing behind him on the top level, looking off in the same direction. There was nothing threatening in the priest's stance – of that much, Jack was sure – but he wasn't willing to relax his guard just yet.

"I'm sure I will," Daniel said. "I find everything about this world fascinating. There's been nothing like it on my world since... well, since you came here."

Niuserre turned his eyes away from the horizon and toward Daniel. "It is true, is it not? You come from the world of the Before Time?"

Daniel nodded his head slowly. "Yes, I do. Your originators were born on the same world I was."

Niuserre nodded, and Jack saw the edge of his lips curl up in a knowing smile. "And when you look out over our new world, what do you see? What do you feel as the sun rises over the pyramid before us?"

Daniel half-turned back toward him. "What do you mean?"

"Are you reminded of your home, your true home? Does it make your heart sing to be among us now?"

Jack saw the way Daniel's shoulders stiffened, on his own back did the same.

"How do you...?"

"All is as it is intended to be, young one," Niuserre said. "For if these things are true, then it is here where you belong. And you will be greatly welcomed."

He reached his hand out and placed it against the side of Daniel's head from behind, then started carding his fingers through Daniel's hair almost lovingly.

Jack didn't know who reacted first, him or Daniel, but they both did immediately. Daniel pulled away from Niuserre and spun around so quickly that he stumbled backwards a few steps, his eyes wide in surprise and his hands up to ward off any more contact. Jack simply stepped out the door and called out, "Daniel!"

Niuserre and Daniel both turned to face him, and he held the two cups in his hands up in the air.

"Made coffee," he said simply. "Thought you might want some."

Daniel nodded his head quickly, and for a brief second, Jack saw the gratitude in his eyes. "Yes, Jack, thank you. Some coffee would be wonderful."

Niuserre, on the other hand, was glaring at him openly. Jack didn't really care, and he walked past him and right up to Daniel without a second glance. After handing one of the cups over, he turned back around again.

"If you'll excuse us, Niuserre," he said. "We've got some things to talk about. Important things. You know."

Niuserre let out an indignant huff as he turned around and stomped off. As soon as he'd cleared the door, Jack turned back to Daniel again.

"Are you all right?" he asked quickly.

"Yeah," Daniel said, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. We were just..."

"I saw that, Daniel," Jack pointed out. "That whole... running his fingers through your hair thing. What was that?"

Daniel shook his head again. "I have no idea." He crinkled his forehead and lowered his eyebrows. "It was sort of awkward, though."

"Awkward?" Jack echoed. "No, that wasn't awkward. That was straight-up creepy. And we're not sleeping here again."

"We have to, Jack," Daniel began. "We've been invited by the..."

"I don't care," Jack interrupted. "We'll finagle us an invitation from Saq'ar for the next couple of nights. It makes more sense for the four of us to be in one place, anyway, and besides, there's no way I'm letting you stay where that priest can..."

"But I'm fine," Daniel protested. "It just... took me by surprise. That's all. I just wasn't expecting him to do that."

"Most people don't expect random strangers to start playing with their hair," Jack said. "But we're still not coming back here tonight. So finish your coffee, grab your gear, and let's go find Carter and Teal'c."

Daniel didn't answer him right away, and seemed instead to be staring off into the distance again.

"Do you hear what I'm saying, Daniel?"

"Who's that?"

The seemingly random question caught Jack off-guard, and he turned to face the same direction Daniel was staring.

He saw her immediately, because the clothes she was wearing were definitely intended to make her stand out in the crowd. She was standing near the side of the narrow street that ran past Niuserre's house, just outside of the small wall that separated his garden from the rest of the village. Instead of the common white linen skirts and dresses of the women in the village, she was wearing a purple cape that covered her from the shoulders down. The hood of it hung down her back, leaving her long dark hair to blow in the wind and also allowing them to see that she was staring right at them.

Daniel took one step forward, as though he was going to approach and talk to her, but she turned away quickly and disappeared into the side streets behind her.

"Well, that's... strange," Jack said.

"Do you know who she is?" Daniel asked. "Did you see her last night?"

"Nope," Jack answered with a shake of his head. "Never seen her before in my life."

He threw his head back, tossed the last of his coffee down, then put the cup on one of the small tables that sat around the garden.

"What are we going to do about her?"

Jack turned toward Daniel and blinked at him in open confusion. "You don't want to say 'no' to the creepy priest that can't seem to keep his hands off you, because you don't want to offend him, but you think we should do something about some woman who hasn't done anything but stare at us?"

Daniel sighed deeply before taking a drink of coffee, then he shook his head and turned away.

"There's nothing to do about her right now," Jack continued. "If we keep seeing her, or if her behavior gets threatening, then we deal with her. Right now, I'm more worried about getting us packed up and out of this house."

He gestured toward the village before turning away once more. "You finish your coffee, I'll go grab our stuff. Sam and Teal'c are waiting for us."

* * *

It looked like the feast from the night before had just been the start of the party.

The sun had finished coming up, and in the early morning, the streets of the village were already filled with people milling around, talking and laughing. The tide of people seemed to be moving toward the pyramid again, and SG1 moved along with them as they briefed each other on what had happened while they'd been apart.

"I'm sure they have room for you, sir," Carter said.

Jack had asked about getting an invitation for himself and Daniel to Saq'ar's house, though he hadn't told either Carter or Teal'c exactly why he was asking. Teal'c had given him a look that said he was fairly sure that Niuserre was the reason, but he hadn't pressed for details, and Jack didn't feel like giving them.

How exactly did he explain that he didn't want to hang out with the priest anymore simply because the guy liked to touch Daniel's hair?

"The children all share a large room downstairs. Saq'ar and Dashu sleep upstairs, and so did Teal'c and I. There's an empty room between us, though, so I don't see why it would be a problem."

"Did you learn anything valuable from her?"

Sam nodded enthusiastically. "She has a remarkable knowledge of anatomy and physiology, sir. Far beyond what I would have expected. She has access to quite a bit of rudimentary Goa'uld technology, all of it low-level medical tech, but she doesn't rely on it for making a diagnosis."

"The ancient Egyptians were amazing physicians," Daniel said. "They understood the effects the different systems had on each other, had varying medical specialties that they trained for and practiced. We've found medical treatises written on papyrus that date back almost three thousand years, not long after their ancestors left Earth. So it stands to reason that the knowledge they already had would have come with them."

"And evolved," Sam added. "Medicine is a science to them, based on fact, not belief. And the medicines they've developed to treat the few illnesses they do have are remarkably effective."

"Anything we can use?" Jack asked.

Sam shook her head. "They're not more advanced than us, no, but we might be able to work some sort of trade for a chance to study the medical technology Nephthys left behind. I wouldn't recommend that we give them any of our medicines, though, because I think it might actually interfere with what they already have, and they're handling their own medical needs just fine."

"Okay. I'll make sure that's in the first report to Hammond this afternoon. Teal'c, what about Saq'ar and his men?"

"They are very well trained," Teal'c answered. "I was correct in my belief that they are not at a state of battle readiness, but they do maintain an active training regimen. I have been invited to participate in a tournament that will be held as part of the current festivities."

Jack nodded his appreciation of that. "What about Saq'ar? You get a feel for him?"

"I have more than a feel, O'Neill. I believe that I know him very well, and I am satisfied with his understanding that Nephthys is a false god."

"Really?" Jack was surprised by that. Even though it didn't appear that the Goa'uld had been present on the planet in many years, generally their subjects remained loyal to them.

"As Niuserre, Saq'ar is aware that Nephthys was an advanced being rather than a goddess. His reasons for accepting the position of First Prime, and continuing to train his troops, are purely custom and tradition. He feels closer to his ancestors when he is part of maintaining the old ways, but he feels no true loyalty to either Nephthys or the Goa'uld in general."

"Think you can recruit him to the Jaffa freedom movement?" Jack asked with a smile.

Teal'c tilted his head. "Recruitment is not required. Saq'ar and his men are already free, and will die to defend that freedom."

The atmosphere in the streets around them had been slowly changing as they'd walked along, and it was no longer possible to ignore it. Instead of moving slowly toward the pyramid, the people were running, laughing, and smiling as they went. Jack stopped a young man in a rough brown skirt as he ran past.

"What's going on?" he asked. "What's the big rush?"

"Oh, we must hurry!" the young man answered. "Niuserre will be entering the temple to bathe the goddess soon! Opet has begun!"

Jack shook his head in confusion as the man ran off again, and he shrugged as he turned back around. Carter and Teal'c looked equally perplexed, but Daniel's reaction was anything but confused. He looked like he knew exactly what the man was so excited about, and he didn't look like he liked it.

He looked like it scared him.

"Daniel?" Jack took one step forward and grabbed Daniel's arm. "What's going on? What's this Opet thing?"

Daniel shook his head quickly, and the last of the color drained from his face. "Opet is not good," Daniel answered. "No, no, no. That can't be right. We have to..."

"Have to what?" Jack demanded. He squeezed Daniel's arm tighter. "What do we have to do?"

Daniel pulled away from Jack without another word, then turned and ran back the direction they'd come, toward the edge of the village.

"Daniel!"

Jack took off after him, with Carter and Teal'c hot on his heels. He didn't understand what was going on at all, but Daniel was freaked out, and Daniel never freaked out. Either something was seriously wrong, or... no, there was no "or." Something was seriously wrong, and that was all there was to it.

Daniel had reached the dune that formed the perimeter of the village and started running up it, pushing himself back to his feet when he stumbled and slid in the loose sand. He was climbing up and out of the village frantically. Jack, Carter, and Teal'c were right behind him the whole time.

It was Daniel who crested the dune first. He slid to a stop and stared at the horizon in horror.

It was only seconds before Jack caught up to him, and when he saw what Daniel was looking at, he froze. Carter and Teal'c did the same on his other side.

"Daniel?" Sam's voice was shaking, her eyes wide in shock and confusion.

"The Festival of Opet," he answered softly, "is to celebrate the flooding of the Nile."

'There's a river' was a statement that Jack and Daniel had tossed back and forth several times the night before, but it didn't seem to be appropriate anymore, because the river was gone. Everything was gone. There was no sand visible, no matter where they looked. There was nothing but water, from horizon to horizon. There was no river; there was an ocean.

And the Stargate was at the bottom of it.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"I wonder how many times Hammond's opened that gate in the past three days."

"Probably just twice," Sam answered. "Once to try to raise us on the comm, and again to send a MALP and see what's going on. I'm sure they figured out what happened after that."

Jack and Sam were sitting in the small courtyard in front of Saq'ar and Dashu's home, which had been their base of operations for the past several days. Dashu and Saq'ar's three children ran around them, laughing and playing, and the scent of Dashu's cooking wafted out the front door, filling the air around them with the aroma of the fish that Jack had come to enjoy tremendously.

"Do you think they think we drowned?"

Sam smiled. "I hope not. I'd like to go home once the water recedes."

Jack called it a base of operations, but in reality, it was really just the house they were staying in, because there wasn't much operating going on.

For the rest of the day after they'd first discovered the flood, they'd maintained mission protocols and tried to stay calm. They'd returned to the village after it became obvious that standing on the side of the dune staring at the water wasn't doing them any good, they'd watched the strange parade from the temple to the pyramid, and they'd even taken part in some of the festivities that took place later in the day.

When their scheduled contact with the SGC came and went without so much as a burst of static on the radio, they'd decided that the water had either washed the MALP away completely or shorted out its transmitter.

The next day, they'd learned that the flood and the festival to celebrate it – the Akhet – would be over in a little over a week, and they'd started to settle in. They'd spent more time out among the villagers, and Jack was actually starting to relax and enjoy the fact that they'd managed to get themselves stranded offworld during a week-long party. The villagers were all friendly, Dashu and Saq'ar were excellent hosts, and even Niuserre seemed to be backing away from the creepy priest thing, at least a little bit. The village itself was comfortable, the weather was fantastic, and the scenery was incredible.

There were worse places to be stuck for a week.

Jack had even relaxed the regulations on the gear he expected SG1 to have with them when they left the house. He still expected them to carry their sidearms, and Teal'c always carried his staff weapon, but the MP5s were almost always left secured in their rooms when they left for the day. Their BDUs were the only clothes that most of them had, so they were still worn, but Jack didn't mind if they walked around in their pants and t-shirts only. And Teal'c was spending so much time with the other Jaffa that he'd started wearing Saq'ar's clothes instead of his uniform.

The only part of the forced extra-long mission that wasn't working out better than Jack had hoped was the situation with Daniel.

He'd become obsessed with the temple almost immediately after the first time he and Jack had gone there, and he'd been spending almost every waking moment in it. He'd abandoned his search for a device like the one Ernest Littlefield as soon as he saw that the construction of the temple and the writing within it were all Goa'uld, but he was still studying the writing on the walls. He said that the information the temple contained could be invaluable to them, and Jack was inclined to believe him. Jack usually went with him when he worked, but after three days, the alternating silence and snarkiness had gotten to be too much, and he'd sent Teal'c instead.

Jack was at a loss to explain why Daniel was having so much trouble dealing with his teammates, or why that problem seemed to come and go. Their first night had gone well, but since that time, things had been going steadily downhill. Jack had tried his best not to push, to give Daniel the time and space he needed to figure out whatever was bothering him and come to Jack with it, just like he'd always done. But it was beginning to look like that wasn't going to be happening any time soon, if ever.

He looked toward the temple and sighed.

"I'm sure he'll come around soon, sir," Sam said beside him, and he didn't need to ask her to clarify who she was talking about.

"Has he talked to you at all?" Jack asked.

"Not really," she answered. "Just what he tells us all at dinner every night. He doesn't talk to me about..." She took an audibly deep breath. "Yeah, he hasn't talked to me. To be honest, sir, I don't think he even likes being around me."

Jack rubbed his forehead with his fingers. "Yeah, me either," he admitted.

"I hate to say it, but do you think he... what if he isn't really...?"

"He's fine, Carter!" He really didn't mean to snap at her like that, and it definitely came out harsher than he intended. He took a deep breath and got himself back under control. "He's fine," he repeated, much more gently. "He's just got a lot to think about, that's all."

"You're right, sir. Of course," Sam said, nodding her head slowly. "It's been a hard few weeks, and he'll come back to us when he's ready."

A sound from in front of them made Jack look up, and then sit up straighter in his chair.

The woman from that first morning, the one in the purple cape, was standing across the courtyard wall from them, on the other side of the street. She wore the same expression on her face as she had that morning, and she neither spoke nor made any movement toward them. She just stood there staring directly at Jack.

Jack pushed himself to his feet and stepped toward her, but just as she had done the first time, she turned and walked away, disappearing quickly into the side streets.

"Who the hell is that?" he asked.

"Are you speaking of Seshat?"

Jack spun back around; he hadn't been expecting an answer. He wasn't surprised to see Dashu standing in the door behind them.

"Sesh... what?" He gestured toward where she'd been standing. "You know her?"

"Of course I do," Dashu said. "How could I live my whole life on Iunu and not know the Violet Mother?"

"Violet Mother." Jack ran the words around in his head, trying to remember where he'd heard them before. "That sounds familiar."

"Niuserre mentioned her," Sam supplied. "He said she's the reason they speak English."

"Oh, yes," Dashu said with a nod. "It is Seshat who teaches us all we know. It was she who taught me healing, and she now teaches my children the same."

"What's her story?" Jack asked, taking a step back toward the house. "Because that's the second time I've seen her, and all she's done so far is stare at me."

Dashu smiled softly. "Seshat is among our oldest citizens. None alive can remember a time without her presence among us, not even the most wizened of the elders."

"How old is the oldest elder?" Sam asked.

"I believe he nears the age of five generations," Dashu said. "And he has spoken of hearing the same stories from his elders as we hear from him. Seshat has never not been among us. Some believe she is the last remaining originator."

Jack and Sam exchanged a worried glance. The woman had been on the planet for at least a hundred and twenty-five years, and if the stories the old man was telling Dashu were true, a lot longer than that. They only knew of one thing that could extend a human lifespan that far.

"Funny," Jack said under his breath. "She doesn't look a day over twenty-five."

* * *

"What have you learned of our history today, Daniel Jackson?"

Teal'c and Daniel had returned from the temple only a few minutes before, just as Dashu was putting dinner on the table. Daniel had walked past Jack without so much as a glance, which was becoming commonplace enough that Jack didn't even think twice about it. The look that Teal'c gave him, though, the one that said they needed to talk when Daniel wasn't around to hear, caught his attention. He'd motioned Sam to walk in front of him, and he'd followed them in. Now they were seated around the table in the center of the large main room, with Saq'ar at one end and Dashu at the other.

It was Saq'ar who had spoken.

"Quite a lot, actually," Daniel answered softly. "Yesterday I read all about the fight between Seth and Osiris for control of the Ennead, which isn't a part of the stories on our world. I spent the night wondering why you would have part of our history here that we seem to have lost, but what I read today makes me think that it wasn't forgotten so much as intentionally omitted."

"What is that?" Saq'ar asked.

Jack, Sam, and Teal'c kept exchanging glances with each other as they ate. It should have been them asking Daniel what he'd learned that day, what new and vital secrets of the Goa'uld he'd pulled out of the paintings and writing at the temple, but they also knew it was better if Saq'ar did it instead. They'd figured it out on the second night after the flood – if they asked him, he wouldn't answer them with more than two or three words. But if Saq'ar or Dashu did, he'd talk for hours.

"Well, we do have stories about a fight between Seth and Osiris, and about Seth actually killing him. Then Isis and Nephthys joining together to bring him back to life. That's what I was explaining yesterday, about her being involved in building the first sarcophagus on Earth. In our stories, they succeeded, Osiris maintained his power, and Seth lost most of his. The Ennead, the ruling family of the gods, was composed almost entirely of members of the Court of Osiris."

"Yes," Saq'ar said. "It was at this time that Lady Nephthys and the originators were sent here."

Daniel pointed at Saq'ar with his index finger. "And that's exactly what I read about today. Nephthys didn't come here because she wanted to; she was banished here. Now, according to the writings, Seth was going to kill her for what she did, but something stopped him, and he banished her instead, sent her here with a handful of Jaffa and loyal servants. Those would be your originators."

Saq'ar and Dashu both smiled.

"I haven't figured out yet exactly why he did that, though, or where he got the address to this Stargate, because according to what we know, he shouldn't have had it."

Saq'ar nodded his head slowly.

"I do not believe it is written upon the temple walls, for Lady Nephthys guarded his name fiercely, but what stopped Lord Seth would be the young prince, Anubis."

Daniel tilted his head slightly, Sam and Teal'c turned toward Saq'ar in curiosity, and even Jack's ear perked up at the mention of Anubis. It had only been a few weeks since Jacob had shown them the pyramid hierarchy of the Goa'uld that the Tok'ra maintained, and they all remembered Anubis' symbol being among them.

Saq'ar continued the story as Dashu stood and started clearing the empty plates.

"Lord Seth was terrifically angry with Lady Nephthys for betraying him and resurrecting his enemy," he explained. "That is exactly as you stated. He was prepared to execute her for her offense against him. However, immediately before the execution was to take place, young Prince Anubis – long though dead by both of his parents – returned to them. He pleaded with his father to spare his mother's life, swore that he would stand by his father's side so long as he continued to live, and gave him the sacred symbols needed to activate Iunu's Chappa'ai."

"And Seth accepted his offer?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, without hesitation. Lord Seth had long sought to exert control over his son, because Osiris had no sons of his own, and had named Anubis his only existing heir. To Lord Seth, this meant that with Prince Anubis under his command, he might one day be able to claim control of the Ennead for himself. However, Prince Anubis had loathed his father almost from the day of his birth, and had chosen the company and counsel of his mother instead."

"Nephthys," Sam breathed.

Saq'ar nodded again. "The Lady Nephthys gave her life to her son. Her love for Prince Anubis was said to be boundless, infinite, that there was no matter in which she would not indulge him. So when he came to her and pleaded with her to follow Lord Seth's order and be sent away from his presence, of course she said yes."

"In so doing, she doomed herself to never see her son again," Teal'c pointed out.

Jack leaned back in his chair and watched the fascination on the faces of his team. He almost let himself smile, but was afraid that if he showed too much enthusiasm, the moment would be ruined. It was worth it, though, and he knew that as soon as he looked at Daniel, at the expression of concentration he wore as he absorbed what Saq'ar was saying, compared it with what he'd been taught, and mentally marked all the points of intersection.

"She did," Saq'ar said. "When she left your world and came to ours, she brought with her only ten of her most loyal Jaffa, a dozen handmaidens, and a promise."

"A promise?" Daniel asked. "What promise?"

"That upon the day of his father's death, Prince Anubis would return to Iunu to rejoin his mother, to return her to her place on the Ennead and the world of her birth."

Jack couldn't help the snort that escaped him. When the heads at the table swiveled toward him, he smiled.

"Well, that's a promise that he's probably not planning to keep," he said.

Saq'ar looked back at him in curiosity. "It is only a legend, O'Neill, words and pictures on the wall of an ancient temple. It is no more an accurate history than it is a valid prophecy."

Daniel shook his head. "No, it's probably an accurate history," he said. "At least, it's a lot closer to what really happened than the stories we have about it on our world. Because Seth couldn't control what Nephthys told the people to write on her temple here like he could on Earth."

"But if Anubis was really planning to come back for her," Jack said, "He'd have been here by now. Seth's been dead for two months."

Saq'ar jumped slightly in his chair, and Dashu gasped in surprise as she sat back down in hers.

"Lord Seth is... was real?" Dashu asked breathlessly.

Sam nodded. "He was as real as any of the Goa'uld are. As real as Nephthys was."

"How did he perish?" Saq'ar asked.

Jack saw the blood drain from Sam's face. He knew she was still having trouble dealing with the Seth situation. He didn't think it bothered her that she had killed him, but she didn't much like admitting how. He leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows against the table.

"I killed him," he said. He caught both the look of confusion from Daniel and the look of gratitude from Sam, and he smiled. "Didn't like the guy much."

"That is impossible."

Jack rolled his eyes as he turned toward the front door and the man who had just spoken. Of all the conversations for Niuserre to barge into...

"It is written that only a god of the Ennead can kill another. It is impossible for you to have killed Lord Seth as you claim."

Dashu jumped to her feet quickly and rushed toward him. "Wer-Meu," she greeted softly. "It is an honor to have you at our door."

"You are allowing blasphemous words to be thrown at your table, Jaffa," Niuserre said to Saq'ar, ignoring Dashu entirely. "You should mind your place within our society. If the divine Nephthys were to learn of this betrayal, you should hope to only be stripped of your rank."

Saq'ar lowered his head. "My deepest and most sincere apologies for my misstep, Wer-Meu."

"You are fortunate that it was I who passed along the road just now and heard the conversation. Had it been someone less forgiving, the consequences for you would certainly have been more dire."

He strolled into the house without an invitation, and Jack glared at him from across the table. He came to a stop just behind Teal'c, directly across from Daniel, and smiled.

"However, I can look past the deceitful words and be grateful to you for the message underneath. It is the truth you speak? Lord Seth is dead?"

"As dead as a dead snake can be."

Jack ignored the elbow Daniel jabbed into his ribs.

But Niuserre didn't give Jack the disdainful glare he'd become accustomed to receiving. Instead, he smiled at him with almost open admiration.

"You did not kill him," Niuserre said. He looked back and forth between Jack and Daniel as he spoke, giving them both the same smile. "You speak in order to protect the one who did, the one whose heart pumps with the blood of the Ennead. You act to maintain a sacred silence surrounding this person's true identity."

Jack swallowed hard and tried to hide it. How the hell did Niuserre know that?

"You do yourself and your charge a credit and a service," the priest said. "You have truly earned your right to hold your position, and shall it never be challenged again. Your reward for your words and actions shall be great. I leave with you my blessing, protector."

The good part was that Niuserre wasn't looking at Daniel in that way-too-familiar and fond way anymore. The bad part was that he was suddenly looking at Jack that way instead.

"I bid you a peaceful and beautiful evening."

Niuserre walked out the door and was gone as quickly as he'd appeared.

Jack took a few seconds to work it all around in his head, raising his eyebrows and working his jaw up and down before he finally found his voice.

"What the hell was that?"

Saq'ar and Dashu both turned toward SG1 in awe.

"You have received the highest honor that can be given on Iunu," Saq'ar said slowly. "You have been blessed by the Wer-Meu."

Jack glanced from Sam to Teal'c before finally turning to Daniel, who was looking back at him with nothing but confusion.

"And here I thought he hated me."

* * *

It was an hour later, after both Sam and Daniel had headed up for bed, that Teal'c followed Jack out into the courtyard to have the conversation that his eyes had promised when he and Daniel had returned from the temple.

Jack gave him a few minutes to start, but it looked like he was suddenly reluctant to do it. He was looking out across the village, toward the temple, with his hands behind his back. He hadn't so much as looked in Jack's direction since they'd walked out the door.

"All right, T," Jack finally said. "Enough with the stalling. What's up?"

Teal'c took a deep breath, but didn't turn toward Jack. "I have always seen it as my duty as a member of SG1 to inform you, as the commander, of any behavior or event that I feel might be a threat."

Jack rolled his eyes up in confusion. "Okay. That's good. I guess. But what does that have to do with..."

"Likewise, I have always seen it as my duty to protect the confidences of my friends and teammates."

Jack sighed deeply and his shoulders sank in understanding. "Daniel told you something, didn't he?" Jack asked. "And now you don't know if you should tell me about it or not."

Teal'c nodded in reply.

"Let me make this easy for you, Teal'c. Is what he told you an actual secret, or just something he doesn't want me to know?"

"It is not something he told me," Teal'c answered. "It is something he asked me that implied that there might be a... problem."

Jack stepped across in front of Teal'c and forced the Jaffa to look at him. "A problem like a hangnail, or a problem like Ma'chello?"

Teal'c lowered his head for the briefest moment, but when he lifted it again, he looked Jack directly in the eye.

"I believe it may imply a situation on the same level as the Ma'chello incident."

Jack shook his head. "You gotta tell me, Teal'c. I can understand that you don't want him to think you're talking about him behind his back, but if there's something seriously wrong, then we're talking about his health here, and we can't mess around with that."

A few seconds of heavy silence passed before Teal'c spoke again.

"Daniel Jackson believes that he is beginning to hear voices that do not exist."

Jack's heart nearly stopped in his chest, his breath froze in his lungs, and his head fell forward.

Shit.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Jack had an easier time waking up in the morning than he'd had since they'd been on Iunu. Of course, the fact that he hadn't slept at all the night before probably had something to do with that.

He was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching Daniel moving around their room, getting ready for the day, and he knew that if he didn't say something soon he'd lose his chance to say anything at all. He looked up and across the room as Daniel picked his t-shirt up from the table and put his arms in the sleeves.

"What you doing today?" he asked.

"Going to the temple," Daniel answered, as though it should be obvious. Which, Jack had to admit, it was. "Why?"

Jack pushed himself up from the bed and stood. "I've got nothing else to do today. What say I go with you?"

Daniel flipped the shirt over his head and slid it down. "What, again?" He tugged the hem of his shirt down, looking at it instead of Jack. "I don't need a babysitter, Jack."

"I know," Jack answered, shrugging as non-nonchalantly as he could manage. "It's just, that's a big place, Daniel. And you never know..."

"When I might lose it again?"

Jack froze. He looked up slowly at Daniel standing across the room, his pack dangling from the strap in his hand, looking back at him with an expression on his face that Jack couldn't decipher. Anger? Frustration? Hatred?

"Are you waiting for me to snap, Jack, is that it? Want to make sure you're there when I do?"

"What? No!"

Daniel sighed and shook his head sadly. "Teal'c told you about the voices, didn't he?"

Jack nodded slowly. "I just don't think that it's a good idea for you to..."

"Go anywhere alone. I know. I mean, I'm hallucinating, right? And I don't think Ma'chello's around here anywhere, so that means it has to be real."

"I didn't say that," Jack protested.

"You didn't have to." Daniel tossed his pack across his shoulder and walked toward the door. "I can see it in your eyes."

Daniel's hand was already on the door, ready to push it open and walk out. And if he went, the conversation went with him, over and done with.

"Daniel."

He stopped and looked back at Jack over his shoulder.

"I'm trying here, buddy. I'm really trying."

Daniel nodded and gave a small, sad smile. "I know. That's the problem."

Jack tilted his head in confusion.

"You, of all people, shouldn't have to try."

Jack watched him leave, heard him call out to Dashu that he was going to the temple, and then there was silence. Jack flopped back down on his bed and leaned forward so he could massage his temples with his fingers. That had not gone well. It hadn't gone anywhere close to the way Jack had wanted it to go. But he had to admit, even grudgingly, that Daniel was right.

Jack was the last person who should have had to work at relating to Daniel, because he hadn't had to in over four years. They just understood each other, and they never had to try. Neither of them had to think about it; it just happened. Of course thinking that Jack suddenly saw their friendship as something that required effort would upset Daniel. How could it not? But as bad as that was, it wasn't the worst testament to just how much they'd lost.

Daniel having tears in his eyes when he looked at him, and Jack knowing he'd put them there, was a thousand times worse.

* * *

Jack gave him four hours before he followed him to the temple, and even that much of a delay required effort. He spent most of the morning walking around the village, thinking about what Daniel had said and trying to figure out a way to fix it. The only answer he'd been able to come up with was that he needed to do what Daniel said, just stop trying and treat Daniel the way he always had.

But nothing was ever that easy. Something had changed between them since Daniel's return from Mental Health – more specifically, since the end of his violent detox from the meds he'd been given while he was there. Jack didn't know if he'd changed or if Daniel had, but things weren't normal between them, and acting like they were, pretending Daniel hadn't been put through hell or ignoring the fact that he himself had played a huge part in it happening, didn't feel right.

No, something was broken, and there had to be a way to fix it. He just had to figure out what that was.

He'd stopped back by the house to see Sam and Teal'c, but they hadn't been there. Dashu said they'd gone off with Saq'ar to help with the preparations for the tournament. He'd had a short conversation with Dashu, just small talk really, about the kids and the weather and the apex festival the next day. After a few minutes of passing the time, he'd realized that he just couldn't wait any longer, and said his goodbyes. As he was leaving, she'd handed him a plate full of food.

"Important conversations are easier on a full stomach," she'd said with a knowing smile.

So he was walking through the temple with a plate of fish, bread, and dates, which smelled wonderful. His plan was to ply Daniel with food and hopefully get him to open up a bit, even though he knew he wasn't exactly the best person to do the whole "talk about your feelings" thing.

And if he managed to get Daniel to eat more than the few bites here and there that he'd been existing on since he'd gotten out of Mental Health, then all the better.

He heard Daniel before he saw him, muttering to himself loudly enough that it echoed down the empty corridor. He didn't want to let it bother him, because he'd heard Daniel talk to himself while he was working a thousand times before. But part of him was instantly alert, worried that something else was going on. What if Daniel was doing more than hearing disembodied voices in this temple? What if he was starting to answer them?

He stepped into the room Daniel was working in, one of the large rooms that Jack had dubbed the story rooms, and most of his worries were immediately put to rest.

Daniel was alone, and he was just working.

He was studying one of the walls intently, and the muttering Jack had heard was him reading the words out loud as he transferred them to his notebook. He watched for a few moments, not wanting to interrupt what was obviously a fascinating transcription, but it didn't take long for him to start feeling like he was spying without permission. Jack didn't know if Daniel was aware of his presence or not, so he decided to announce himself.

"Hey, Daniel."

"Yeah?" Daniel's voice was distracted but not surprised, so he had known Jack was there. He just hadn't acknowledged him. He also didn't bother to look at him.

"Brought you lunch," Jack said with a false cheerfulness. "Dashu made that fish of hers. Thought you might want some."

"I'm busy."

"You can take a break, Daniel. It's not like the walls are going anywhere."

Daniel sighed and looked down at his notebook. "Then I'm not hungry."

Jack stepped forward, holding the plate out in front of him. "I don't remember asking."

"Then we're even," Daniel said hotly. "Because I don't remember you asking, either."

Jack could feel his anger rising, and he did his best to hold it down. He hadn't gone there to fight with Daniel; he'd gone to apologize for the last fight they'd had and try to make it so they didn't have any more. But it looked like they were on their way right back into another argument anyway.

"Look, it's really simple, Daniel. It's lunch time. I brought you lunch. Now you need to stop what you're doing and..."

"Enough, Jack!" Daniel threw his notebook down on the ground and spun to face him. Jack had known he was mad, but the sheer amount of fury in Daniel's eyes surprised him. "Enough."

For the first time in almost a month, Jack reacted the way he normally did, and he met Daniel's anger with his own.

"Yeah, Daniel, enough."

"What?" Daniel blinked his eyes, as though he either didn't understand or couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You heard me."

Jack was done with it, and he couldn't keep his anger at bay any longer. He'd been biting his tongue for weeks, treating Daniel as carefully as he could all that time, and it was pointless. He'd watched out for him, put himself between Daniel and everyone else, made sure that they all gave him the space he needed to work things out on his own, and it wasn't doing any good. If anything, Daniel's attitude had been getting worse, not better. Daniel wanted Jack to treat him the way he always had, right? At that moment, Jack was angry enough to do just that.

He was done.

"Enough," he repeated. "You haven't talked to me about... well, about anything, in damn near two weeks. When you are forced to speak in my general direction, you make it clear that you don't want to. If I'm lucky enough to get more than two or three words out of you, they're either nasty and sarcastic or bitter and childish. And you're not much better with Sam and Teal'c. You're great with the villagers, sure, but when it comes to your own damn team, it's like you can't stand to even look at us! You'd rather hide here by yourself than be forced to spend even ten minutes with the rest of us, and if you are with us, you're either doing everything you can to get away or going out of your way to ignore us."

Jack hadn't meant to say quite so much, but once he'd started, he couldn't stop himself. Everything he'd felt, everything he'd wanted to say to Daniel for the past four days, had finally reached the boiling point. And if he didn't release the pressure soon, he was going to explode.

"You're moody, and cranky, and rude, and I've had enough. You're throwing a temper tantrum, and you need to knock it off!"

Daniel blinked a few times, shock and confusion and hurt fighting for control of his expression. "A temper... you think that's what this is? That I'm throwing a temper tantrum?" he asked slowly.

"Yes," Jack answered. "And it needs to stop now." He stepped forward and shoved the plate into Daniel's open hands. "Now eat."

Jack turned his back to walk away, but the sound of the plate shattering against the wall behind him stopped him in his tracks. He turned back around slowly, fighting down the urge to grab Daniel and slap some sense into him.

As soon as he actually saw his face, all of Jack's anger flowed away.

Daniel was standing there, right where he had been, with the remains of one of Dashu's plates and what had been a delicious smelling meal on the floor at his feet. But that wasn't what had Jack so worried.

"I don't want to."

Daniel's teeth were clenched together, his hands were fisted at his sides, and he was shaking. He was white as a sheet, his eyes were circled with dark smudges that spoke of multiple sleepless nights, and his cheeks were flushed with what looked like a fever.

Jack took a step forward, suddenly worried that Daniel was sick. Had he come down with something, been exposed to something on the planet that he was allergic to? How had Jack not noticed him sliding downhill when it was so obvious that he had been for days, possibly the whole time they'd been on Iunu?

"You think this is a tantrum, Jack? Like I'm a little kid throwing a fit because someone told me 'no'?"

"Daniel..."

"The problem is that I am an adult! I'm thirty-three years old, and I've got a right to make decisions and do things for myself, without you or Sam or Teal'c following me everywhere. 'No, you can't go to the temple by yourself, Daniel.' 'Eat your dinner, Daniel.' 'Tell us what you're feeling, Daniel.' 'It's time to take your meds, Daniel.'"

The conversation, and apparently Daniel's mind, had just taken a sharp turn in an entirely new direction, one that Jack wasn't at all comfortable with. It wasn't about Dashu's fish anymore, and Jack didn't think it ever had been.

"If I don't want to eat, then I don't have to. And if I don't want to talk, then I don't have to. And if I don't want to swallow pills, then I don't have to. And no one has the right to force me to, Jack, not even you!"

"I didn't do that, Daniel," Jack said softly, shaking his head in denial. "That wasn't me."

"You stood there and watched," Daniel accused. "You didn't try to stop them. You didn't even move!"

And there it was.

He'd been waiting for weeks for Daniel to start talking about it, to open up about what had happened and get it out of his system. But now that he was doing it, Jack wasn't so sure that he was ready to hear it.

"And don't think I haven't noticed what you're doing, following me around like you do, having Teal'c do it if you're not feeling up to it. I don't understand why you think protecting me now is such a big deal, because God knows when I really needed you, you didn't do a damn thing to help me!"

Jack stepped back from that. Daniel's words stung like an actual physical blow – probably worse. He wanted to defend himself, but how could he? He'd wanted to see those four days through Daniel's eyes, to understand why he'd come back from them so different, and now he was starting to. He'd just never imagined that in Daniel's mind, he was one of the bad guys.

"What was I supposed to do?" Jack asked.

"What would you normally do if someone pinned me to the floor and shoved a needle in my arm?" Daniel demanded. "How could you just stand there like that and let them?"

Jack didn't have an answer for that, not really. "I thought they were... I thought you were sick, Daniel. I thought they were helping you."

"I had bruises on my arms and shoulders for more than a week!" Daniel spat. "How is that helping me?"

Jack shook his head slowly and turned away. "I didn't know what else to do," he said plaintively.

Daniel stared back at him in silence, with those damn tears in his eyes again, and Jack dropped his head. He heard the rustle of Daniel's clothes against the wall as he pressed his back against it and slid down until he was sitting on the floor. Jack moved a few feet away and did the same.

"I'd never let anyone hurt you if I could stop them," he said softly. "You know that. But they told me you were sick, that if I didn't let them help you, you were going to kill your..." He couldn't even finish that sentence, and he swallowed hard. "I was wrong, and I know that, and God damn it, I'm sorry, but I did the best I could, Daniel, because I didn't know what else to do."

The silence that followed was both heavy and deafening, and Jack had no idea how to fill it. Daniel saved him the trouble.

"Why are we here, Jack?"

The question seemed to have come from nowhere, but Jack knew that it hadn't. It wasn't just a random question asked to fill the empty air between them or an effort to change the subject. It was a question that Daniel had been wanting – needing – to ask since before they'd even left Earth. Their being there made no sense and, especially when seen through the lens of his recent past, Daniel really needed to understand exactly what was going on.

And despite knowing all of that, despite the importance of the conversation they were having, Jack couldn't answer him. He wasn't sure if he didn't know how, or if he just didn't want to.

After a few seconds, Daniel dropped his eyes to the floor, sighed, leaned back against the wall and whispered, "Never mind."

That response was so far from good that it made Jack's heart jump into his throat. He pulled away from the wall, leaned his elbows on his knees, and cleared his throat to get Daniel's attention. "Daniel?"

"Why won't you answer me?" came the equally quiet response. "Do you have so little faith in me now that you can't even tell me why we're here?"

"I haven't lost any faith in you," Jack said, surprised that Daniel would even think he had.

"Then why won't you answer me?" Daniel asked again. "What are you trying to protect me from this time?"

That was another question Jack didn't have an answer for. What exactly was he protecting Daniel from? From finding out that Hammond thought Daniel wasn't ready to handle an actual mission yet? From finding out that Janet hadn't so much cleared him for duty as passed the decision off to Jack? From finding out that the whole Ma'chello mess had been Jack's fault from the very beginning and that he was doing everything he could to repair all the damage he'd done to a man who, after four years of growing in both strength and spirit, seemed as vulnerable now as he had on the day they met?

Jack had made a lot of mistakes in his life, and he'd be the first to admit to them. He was far, far from perfect, after all. But the mistakes he'd made in recent weeks, believing the doctors when they told him that Daniel was insane and ignoring Daniel himself when he told him that he wasn't, had done so much damage to the man in front of him that Jack doubted he'd ever be able to fix it all.

You just don't let people lock your friends in a padded room, drug them into oblivion, and throw away the key. You just don't do it.

But Jack had done it, and he'd done it to Daniel.

And now he was trying trying to fix the damage that had been done without telling Daniel he was doing it, trying to find some way to go back to normal without it looking like he was actually making an effort, and trying to keep Daniel from finding out that any of this had been going on. But Daniel had seen the way Jack was acting, from volunteering to go to the temple with him to following him around the village whenever he could, and he was starting to draw his own conclusions. Of course, the conclusions Daniel was coming to were wrong, but only because Jack hadn't seen fit to tell him the truth.

Daniel thought Jack was doing all of these things, going all these places with him, because he didn't have faith in him anymore, because he didn't trust him to do anything by himself, or maybe because he expected Daniel to go crazy again. The truth was that Jack just wanted to make it up to him, protect him, possibly erase the pain he'd suffered by doing his damnedest to make absolutely certain that nothing got close enough to hurt him again.

Of course, Jack had failed in that – again. He hadn't protected Daniel. He hadn't saved him any pain or prevented any suffering. In fact, if the look on Daniel's face was anything to go by, he'd only added to it.

So, he did the only thing he could do. He finally decided to tell Daniel the truth. Jack shrugged, half-smiled, and said, "We thought you'd like it here."

Daniel didn't raise his head, didn't look at Jack as he asked, "Who is 'we'?"

"Me and General Hammond," Jack answered. "We were the ones who decided..."

"Did Sam and Teal'c know about it?"

"Know about what?" Jack didn't like the fact that Daniel still hadn't looked at him. He didn't like anything about the conversation they were having, but he couldn't back out. He was the one that started the whole honesty thing, and he had to follow through with it.

"That this entire mission was designed just to humor me?" Daniel said. "That the original plan was to spend four days indulging and babysitting me?" Now Daniel raised his head, now he looked at Jack. But the look in his eyes – pain, betrayal, fear – made Jack wish that he hadn't. "Did they agree with it? Did one of them come up with it? Or was that all you? Was it their idea, General Hammond's, or yours?"

Jack shook his head vehemently. No, that wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. "No, Daniel, it's not like that. It wasn't about that."

"Really? Tell me, Jack. When was the last time we went on a purely cultural mission?"

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but found that he couldn't. In truth, he had no idea when their last strictly cultural mission was, if they'd ever had one like that.

"It was Argos," Daniel supplied for him. "Argos. Two years ago."

Jack closed his eyes – he couldn't believe that neither he nor General Hammond had bothered to check on that little fact before they put this plan in motion. Of course Daniel would notice something odd about a mission with a strictly cultural purpose, especially if they hadn't been on one in two years. And of course, Daniel being Daniel, he'd immediately assume that to mean that his team and his superiors had lost faith in him.

"You don't need to coddle me!" Daniel declared suddenly. "What happened happened; I can't change it. But it wasn't my fault. I told you from the beginning that I wasn't sick, I wasn't crazy, and you wouldn't listen to me!"

"Hey!" Jack didn't know why he cried out in protest. Daniel hadn't said anything wrong. He hadn't said anything that wasn't completely true. He hadn't said anything that Jack himself hadn't been thinking only moments before. And even though it was obvious that Daniel needed to do this, needed him to hear this, Jack wasn't all that sure that he was ready to listen.

"No, you wouldn't. So they put me in that place, and they told me I was crazy, and they pumped me full of drugs. But I wasn't crazy, and I proved it, didn't I? You got me out of there, and the drugs are gone. It's over, and it's never going to happen again, and you really need to stop treating me like you expect me to snap, or start talking to myself, or start seeing things that aren't there, or break my glasses and kill myself."

"Daniel..." No, Jack wasn't ready to hear these things yet. He couldn't even deal with the fact that the doctors had considered Daniel a danger to himself in the first place; he really didn't need to hear Daniel saying that he probably had been.

"It's over, Jack! Those voices Teal'c told you I've been hearing? It's the wind whistling through the empty rooms. I've been hearing it since as long as I can remember, in every temple I've ever been in, and it always surprises me. But that's all it is. I'm not hallucinating, I'm not crazy, and you need to stop treating me like I'm going to break and let it go." Daniel looked at him again, looked him right in the eye, and Jack saw that despite the vehemence of his words, Daniel was suddenly calm. He'd said all he needed to say, he'd gotten it out in the open, and he not only meant every word he said, he believed them.

"It's over," Daniel repeated softly.

Jack nodded his head. "I know it is."

"It wasn't real in the first place."

"I know that, too."

After a few moments of silence, Jack looked back across to find Daniel studying him, reading his face for proof that he actually believed him.

"You're not crazy, Daniel," Jack said, unsure of why he was saying it but strangely certain that for all of his words, Daniel really needed to hear it. "You never were."

Daniel smiled.

"So when do you start treating me like a grown man again?"

Jack nodded; he deserved that. His every thought, word and action during their stay on Iunu had spoken to him thinking Daniel was damaged, fragile, and breakable. Everything had been about protecting him – keep the crazy lady in purple away from him, keep the way too touchy-feely priest away from him, follow him around the temple all day, don't let him go out into the village alone. Every moment had been dominated by Jack doing what he thought was best for Daniel, but never once had he stopped to ask Daniel what he thought that was.

No wonder Daniel thought Jack didn't trust him anymore.

"How's right now work for you?"

Daniel nodded and smiled softly. "I think it's as good a time as any."

"Good," Jack said with a quick nod. "I think I'll start by telling Dashu that you're the one who broke her plate and threw her fish on the floor."

Daniel leaned his head back against the wall and brought his arms up to rest against his knees. "I guess that was a little stupid," he said. "Because I actually am hungry, and that smelled wonderful."

Jack pushed himself to his feet, then turned and held his hand out to Daniel. "So, are we good?"

Daniel looked up at Jack's hand for a few seconds before reaching up to grasp it. Jack pulled him to his feet smoothly.

"We're better," Daniel conceded. "Good's going to take a little longer."

Jack picked Daniel's notebook up from the floor and handed it back to him.

"Dashu's going to have supper ready early tonight," he said. "Because of the festival tomorrow. She wants to get the kids to bed early, so..." Jack took a deep breath and let it out, then forced himself to turn away. "Don't stay here too late, okay?"

Daniel tilted his head slightly. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah." Jack forced the lightness into his voice, and hoped to hell that Daniel didn't notice how hard it was for him to do. "That was my lunch, too, ya know. I'll see you back at the house."

He made himself walk away, made himself keep looking ahead and not back at Daniel. That was what adults did, after all. The decision to stay or go was Daniel's, and Jack wasn't going to force him to make the one he wanted him to.

After all that had happened, it was the least he could do.

But that didn't mean that he didn't breathe a silent sigh of relief when he heard Daniel's footsteps crossing the floor behind him, jogging to catch up with him.

"I guess I could just go now," Daniel said. "It's not like the walls are going anywhere."

He didn't even let himself smile at that, despite the fact that he was mentally pumping his fists in the air in victory.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The morning of the Tournament dawned as bright and beautiful as every single one of the past five mornings had been.

The Tournament was held as a sort of a closing ceremony for the Akhet festival, and everyone in the village would be in attendance. Just that morning – as he had done every morning for the last four – Jack had gone and stood on the dune and was satisfied that the flood was receding fast enough that it would be gone in a few days. He hoped to take his team home within another four days.

An open-air arena had been constructed behind the temple since the beginning of the flood, and it was filled to almost overflowing with the villagers that had come to watch the Jaffa fight each other with their practice staffs. At the end of the day, the victor would be crowned and would hold a position of honor in the village until the next year, when a new champion would take his place.

Teal'c had been training hard for the past two days, and he was confident about his chances. Saq'ar was the current champion, and Jack thought Teal'c was severely underestimating the man's fighting prowess. But it was sure to be one hell of an entertaining match, provided that they both lasted long enough to meet each other in the final fight.

Jack was sitting on the end of one of the benches that had been hauled into the arena, with Daniel next to him and Sam next to Daniel. Dashu had told them that she had some last-minute business in the village and that she would be arriving later, and had told them not to bother saving her a seat. As the wife of the First Prime, and current Tournament champion, she would have a designated seat next to Niuserre.

The first few matches passed quickly, and the three members of SG1 passed time by alternating between pleasant conversation and actually paying attention to the matches.

When Teal'c stepped into the arena and faced off against his first opponent, Jack smiled.

The fight, such as it was, didn't last long. Not only had Teal'c towered over the obviously much younger Jaffa, but from the first swing of the staff it became obvious that he was much better trained.

"Bra'tac would've loved to see this one."

Daniel laughed beside him. "He'd probably say Teal'c is wasting his time."

"Teal'c is wasting his time," Sam said. "But he's having fun."

Jack shook his head. "Yeah, I don't think Bra'tac believes in fun."

When the other Jaffa landed hard on his back in the dirt and Teal'c lifted his arms in victory, a loud cheer went up from the crowd. Jack and Sam jumped to their feet and threw their arms in the air, too, and Daniel laughed again.

"The wave," he said. "You're doing the wave at a Jaffa tournament."

Jack shrugged as he and Sam sat back down. "Hey, somebody's gotta do it."

"Samantha!"

All three of them snapped around at the sound of Dashu's shout, and saw her running up the stairs toward them. Jack and Daniel stood and stepped out from the bench as she got closer to them.

"Dashu," Daniel said. "I thought your seat was on the other..."

"Oh, I have no time for the trivial games of my husband," she said excitedly. She pushed past both Jack and Daniel without another word and sat on the bench next to Sam.

"Samantha, an amazing thing has happened. The Oracle has left the temple and is giving audience in the village house."

Jack knew what the village house was; the largish stone structure stood just down the street from Niuserre's house and it served as a combination recreation center and government building. He wasn't so sure what an Oracle was, though.

"Oracle?" Sam asked. "What Oracle?"

"She who speaks to the wind and can give you the answers you seek."

Jack looked over at Daniel, and they shared a smile. "The fortune teller's set up shop," Jack whispered.

Daniel nodded. "Sounds like it."

Jack noticed that Sam was looking to him for direction, and he waved at her.

"It'll be at least an hour before Teal'c's up again," he said. "I don't see any harm in you running down to the fortune teller and getting your palm read."

Sam smiled at him, nodded at Dashu, and stood. "Sure, Dashu. That sounds great. At the village house you said?"

The two women walked past and down the stairs, and Jack and Daniel settled back in their seats.

"So," Jack said, "how common is that sort of thing?"

"What, people calling themselves oracles?" Daniel asked. "There's been some version or other of fortune teller in just about every culture known on Earth."

"I wonder what answers Great Swammi the Magnifico is going to have for Carter."

* * *

"Young one! Protector!"

Jack leaned closer to Daniel and lowered his voice. "Does he call us that for a reason, or does he just not know our names?"

Daniel elbowed him in the ribs again as a breathless and visibly excited Niuserre drew to a stop at their side.

"A truly amazing thing has happened!" he began.

Jack cut him off with a wave of his hand. "If you're here to tell us about the Oracle coming out of the temple, we've known for half an hour. Not interested."

Niuserre shook his head and lowered his eyebrows. "The Oracle has left the temple?" he asked. "I was not informed of this. Where has she gone?"

"The village house," Daniel answered. "She's holding audience with the villagers."

"Oh, that is not... but that is not for you to be bothered with. No, I have come to tell you that the pyramid has been opened!"

Daniel stood up immediately. "The black pyramid?" he asked. "The one in front of the temple?"

"Yes, yes," Niuserre answered, nodding his head frantically. "The secrets of our originators, the stories that the divine Nephthys herself kept hidden away out of her deep and unending love for the young Prince Anubis. The questions that you have asked that I have been unable to answer."

Jack hadn't thought it was possible for Daniel's eyes to get any larger than they were, but they were growing with every word that Niuserre said. He was chomping at the bit to get inside that pyramid, and Jack had a feeling that if he didn't get out of the way, he'd get shoved.

"Um..." He placed his hand lightly on Daniel's arm to hold him back.

"You must come," Niuserre said. "It is truly an amazing event. Only the Wer-Meu is allowed to enter the pyramid, and only on the day of Opet. That it has been opened for the villagers is astounding and unheard of. You do not wish to miss such a rare opportunity to read the rest of our history, do you?"

"No," Daniel answered quickly with a fierce shake of his head. "No, not at all. We're coming." He turned to face Jack. "Right, Jack? We're going? We can go?"

Jack couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at seeing the look in Daniel's eyes, the intense curiosity and desire for knowledge that burned so bright in him. And not just that, but he'd intentionally sought Jack's advice on whether or not he should go.

"Of course, Daniel," he answered. "Wouldn't miss it."

Jack stepped aside, and Daniel bolted past him. Niuserre and Daniel ran down the steps as quickly as they could, huddled together and no doubt discussing all the wondrous and amazing things they were about to learn.

For his part, Jack was just enjoying the fact that far from taking the opportunity to get away from him, and for the first time since they'd arrived on the planet, Daniel had actually asked Jack to go somewhere with him.

And was happy that he said yes.

* * *

"How often does the Oracle grant audiences?" Sam asked.

Dashu's excitement hadn't dimmed since they'd been standing in line, and if anything it had increased. "She has not left the temple in my lifetime," she said. "Nor in the memory of the elders. Until this day, I believed that she was nothing more than a legend, a story invented by the priests."

The half hour that they had been standing in line, waiting for their audiences, had passed quickly, and they found themselves at the head of the line at last. Sam looked back down the long line of people waiting to see the Oracle, and saw the same expressions on their faces that shone from Dashu's. It was obvious that the Oracle's presence was something they all took very seriously, and the confirmation of her existence was something that was bringing them all joy.

For Sam, the experience was dampened by her own suspicions of the Oracle's true nature, which were in turn based on her knowledge of the longevity that she, like the teacher Dashu had called Seshat, seemed to have.

The excited murmur that had been a constant within the crowd died down, and Sam turned to see why.

A Jaffa had appeared at the door to the village house, and he stood at attention. It was obvious that he'd come out to make an announcement, and the villagers were going to hang on his every word.

"The Oracle grows tired," he said, once the assembled crowd had silenced itself. "She bade me wish you all well and bestow her blessing upon you. She will grant one final audience for the day, and then she will return to the temple."

Sam saw the way Dashu bit her lip in excitement, and she smiled.

"Samantha Carter."

Sam turned toward the Jaffa, shocked at having heard him say her name.

"The Oracle has requested that her last audience be with you.".

* * *

Teal'c's first two matches had gone as well as he'd expected, and he'd defeated his opponents easily. He only had one more Jaffa to face before he'd earned his way into the final fight, and he was confident that he would be advancing.

As he milled around the the preparation area beneath the stands of the arena, he saw his next opponent standing in a group of several more Jaffa. All of them were talking excitedly, but too softly for Teal'c to hear what they said. He started toward them, intending to wish his opponent luck in their upcoming match.

Before he reached them, though, they all turned and left the preparation area together.

Teal'c stopped where he was and turned around in confusion. No one else seemed to have noticed the sudden departure of almost half of the participant in the Tournament. At the very least, none of them were reacting to it. He saw Saq'ar a few feet away and walked toward him.

"Saq'ar?" he said as he got closer to him. "Has something gone awry? Several of the Jaffa have left the arena."

Saq'ar smiled at him tiredly. "It is no matter for concern," he answered. "From time to time, the Wer-Meu calls small numbers of Jaffa into his service. It is a small inconvenience. Nothing more."

Teal'c tilted his head and looked back at Saq'ar with disappointment. "My next opponent was among those who have left," he said.

Saq'ar clapped him on the arm. "Then why do you worry, my friend?" he asked. "You have advanced into the final fight. I hope that you are prepared for what I will do."

* * *

"The entrance is here," Niuserre said. "Just here. It is hidden from view, but it is simple enough to operate."

He pressed on one of the small glyphs that were carved into the surface of the pyramid, and a panel slid aside, revealing a wide corridor inside, lit with torches that already burned brightly.

"The pyramid is offering to you all that it holds, all of its secrets and stories. All it asks in return is that you take nothing with you when you enter." As he spoke, he motioned to the large stone bowl near the door, obviously indicating that they should leave their sidearms there.

Daniel looked to Jack for confirmation again, and Jack nodded. Then Daniel smiled and turned back to Niuserre.

"You're coming with us?"

"Regretfully, no," the priest answered, and he did sound sad about that. "I must return to the village house, to escort the Oracle back to the temple, and then I must attend to the daily offerings. But I have every faith that what you will find inside will answer every question you may still have about the goddess."

Niuserre smiled at them both once more, then nodded his head briefly and walked away.

Daniel pulled his gun out of its holster, pulled out the clip, and put both in the bowl Niuserre had indicated. Jack did the same, but a bit more slowly, and Daniel was almost bouncing up and down in restrained excitement by the time he reached toward the bowl himself.

"I don't know about his, Daniel," he said. "I know we've been walking around with minimal weapons, but completely unarmed?"

"We've been here for six days, Jack. We've eaten their food, drank their wine, and slept in their beds. And you don't trust them yet?"

Jack slowly pulled his hand back, leaving his unloaded gun in the bowl.

"All right," Jack said with a sigh. "What's the worst that could happen, anyway?"

* * *

She shouldn't have been surprised to see Seshat standing on the altar, but she was.

"You?"

Seshat nodded deeply and slowly.

"You're the Oracle?"

"I am," the woman answered, her voice even and her tones measured. "I am also High Priestess and advisor to Nephthys."

Sam stepped forward, surprised that there were no Jaffa in the room guarding her.

"No, I don't think you are," she said. "You're not an advisor to Nephthys. And you're sure not human, because that's not even possible. You're at least two hundred and fifty years old, but I'm willing to bet you're even older than that. A lot older."

She'd reached the bottom of the stairs to the raised platform that Seshat stood on, and she stared up at her in open defiance. Now that she was so close to her, the naquadah in her blood was confirming her suspicions.

"I think you are Nephthys," she accused.

Seshat shook her head slowly. "I am not."

"Then why have you been following us?" Sam demanded. "What's with the staring at us, and this whole Oracle thing? Why doesn't anyone remember a time when you didn't exist?"

"I will tell you all that you ask, but you must listen. There is a threat on Iunu, a threat to your friends. But in order to save them, you must trust me."

Sam shook her head vehemently. "I'm not going to trust you!" she said. "I'm going to go find my friends and tell them what you are, though."

Sam turned on her heel and stormed toward the door, preparing herself for the resistance she was sure to meet on her way out.

"Samantha Carter, host to Jolinar of Malkshur; daughter of Jacob Carter, host to Selmak – hear me."

Sam stopped in her tracks and turned around slowly.

"I am not Nephthys," Seshat repeated. "I am Tok'ra." Her eyes flashed gold, and her voice reverberated through the entire room when she spoke again.

"My name is Ma'at."

* * *

He'd wasted far too much time walking around the preparation area, stretching and trying to keep his muscles warm. He'd be going into his final fight against Saq'ar with far less power and strength than he would have had he been able to fight his last opponent rather than accept his forfeit.

As he made yet another round of the area he'd begun to think of as the locker room, he overheard three younger Jaffa speaking loudly near him. They were talking about Anubis, but according to what Saq'ar had said, they shouldn't have even known about him. Saq'ar said Nephthys had kept her son's name from appearing in any of the legends and stories on the temple walls, had gone so far as to forbid anyone to mention that she even had a son.

So how did these three know about him?

"The young prince you speak of," Teal'c began as he walked toward them. "Who is it?"

"Why, Prince Anubis, of course," one of them answered excitedly.

"Lord Seth is dead," another declared. "The promise will be kept."

Teal'c tilted his head. "How do you have knowledge of this promise?"

"It's no secret," the third young man said. "The prince's return has been foretold for centuries. We were not allowed to speak of it openly, no, but everyone has always known. And on the day Prince Anubis returns, the Lady Nephthys herself will come out from the temple to greet him."

Teal'c's level of concern on Iunu had been virtually non-existent from the very beginning, but suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck was standing up.

"And when is the prince to arrive?" he asked.

"We do not know," the first young Jaffa said. "These two think he'll walk through the Chappa'ai after the waters have receded. But I think he's already here."

"Teal'c!"

Teal'c turned when he heard the Jaffa who'd been summoning them to the arena call his name.

"You must hurry," the man said. "Saq'ar has already entered the arena. The championship match is about to begin."

* * *

"Are you learning anything new?" Jack asked as he looked up and down the corridor.

"Not yet, no," Daniel answered. He was running his fingers along the glyphs and moving his lips, reciting the story to himself. "So far, it's just what Saq'ar told us at dinner the other night."

Jack nodded. "So, what are the odds that we already know all of these vast and amazing secrets Niuserre was going on about?"

Daniel smiled. "At this point? I'm thinking that's actually pretty likely. Because we're almost to the end, and there hasn't been anything we didn't already know."

Jack sighed and looked back down the corridor again. "I don't want to alarm you or anything, but I'm really starting to regret leaving our weapons at the door."

Daniel's finger stopped where it was and he looked at Jack over his shoulder. "Why?"

"I don't know," Jack answered with a shake of his head. "Just a feeling, like there's something horrible waiting for us at the end of this hallway."

"Like what?" Daniel asked with a chuckle. He turned back to the wall again.

"Like... I don't know. One of those bull-man things."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that."

"Why not?"

Daniel glanced back at him and grinned.

"Because the Minotaur was Greek."

* * *

"Jolinar knew you," Sam said.

Ma'at nodded her head. "She was my friend for many lifetimes, yes."

"And you know my father?"

"I know Selmak very well," Ma'at said. "And I know of Jacob Carter. I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting him, but I have heard many good things about him."

"And what you said about there being a threat?" Sam stepped forward again. "What are you talking about? What's happening?"

"My words are not strong enough to explain it all," Ma'at answered. She held out her hand, and showed Sam a small black device that she recognized immediately.

She stepped back involuntarily. "No," she said. "You're not using that on me."

"Do you wish to save your friends, Samantha?"

"Of course," she answered immediately.

"You will not be able to save them unless you understand the events that have already been set in motion, and everything that has come before. And to do that, you will need to trust me."

* * *

Teal'c stepped into place across the field of battle from Saq'ar, lifted his staff and squared his shoulders. He heard the roar of the crowd around them, but he shut it out of his mind. He focused only on Saq'ar. He looked into the Jaffa's eyes, needing to read them, to judge his opponent's state of readiness and confidence. It was far easier to exploit an opponent's weaknesses if he could see them in his eyes.

But Saq'ar's eyes held no hint of weakness. In fact, they held nothing at all that Teal'c expected to see there.

They held sadness and regret.

Teal'c dropped his staff to the ground as Saq'ar, unable to meet his eye any longer, dropped his head.

* * *

"Oh, this is new," Daniel said.

"What?" Jack stepped back to his side and looked over his shoulder even though he knew he didn't have a chance in hell of understanding what he was looking at.

"Nephthys didn't think Anubis would remember her," Daniel answered. "She thought that his love for her would lead him here, but that he'd be so corrupted by Seth that he wouldn't do it intentionally."

Jack's eyes widened. "Well, that's kinda crazy."

Daniel nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it is. But I'm noticing that the tone of these writings has been changing as we've moved down," he said. "It's almost like it was written by someone who was actually..."

"Actually what?" Jack asked.

Daniel swallowed hard and turned to face him.

"Going insane while they wrote it."

* * *

Sam's eyes shot open and she couldn't stop the horrified scream that passed her lips.

"No!"

She pushed herself up from the floor, heedless of the memory device still inserted above her ear, and ran out the door.

* * *

Teal'c looked away from Saq'ar and up into the stands frantically.

He knew exactly where his team had been seated. He'd seen them standing and cheering for him during and after his first match. He didn't remember them doing it again during the others, and when he saw the three empty seats they had occupied, he knew why that was.

He threw a glare across the arena at Saq'ar, and then he turned and ran.

* * *

They'd reached the room at the center of the pyramid, and Daniel was continuing to read the glyphs that covered the walls. Suddenly, he huffed in frustration and threw his arms up.

"It doesn't make any sense!"

Jack shrugged. "Well, if it's the ramblings of a crazy person..."

"It stops in the middle of a word!" Daniel said. "It's just... this whole thing was a waste of time. We've probably missed all of Teal'c's matches, even the last one. And all we learned is that the person who wrote this wasn't entirely stable."

They both heard the strange scraping sound behind them, and they turned toward it in unison.

* * *

"Major Carter!"

She didn't slow down when she heard Teal'c call her name, because she knew that he'd have no trouble catching up to her.

"Daniel Jackson and O'Neill are missing!"

"The pyramid!" she called back to him. She couldn't get the images out of her mind, what she'd seen, what she'd heard, what she'd felt. She didn't know how much of it was history and how much of it was future, but she knew they didn't have much time.

"They're in the pyramid!"

She forced herself to run faster when she saw the opened panel in the side. She saw both of their weapons laying in a large stone bowl to one side of the opening, and she recognized them, but she paid them no more attention than that.

She and Teal'c tore down the wide, torch-lit corridor, running deeper and deeper into the pyramid and forcing themselves to run faster with every step. Teal'c reached the large room at the end of the tunnel first, and he stopped just inside of it. Sam skidded to a stop beside him, and her heart leaped into her throat.

Daniel and the colonel weren't there.

And there was blood on the floor.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

The room was completely empty, just four stone walls, the floor, and a high ceiling, but they felt the need to search it before they left the pyramid.

The blood on the floor spoke loudly of both Daniel and Jack having been there at one time, and having left under circumstances beyond their control. It also made her mind keep flashing back to what she'd seen when Ma'at had attached the memory device to her. She didn't understand the technology completely, had thought it only allowed easy access to memories that already existed, but it was obvious that this one was different, because this one had somehow allowed her to see into the future.

She couldn't get it out of her mind's eye, the sight of Daniel and the colonel, both screaming, both covered in blood.

She shook her head and chased the vision away again.

"They're not here, Teal'c," she said. "But we've got to find them."

"Where do we begin our search?" he asked. "We have no knowledge of what has happened here."

"No, we don't," she admitted. "But I know who to ask."

They ran back to the village house almost as quickly as they'd run to the pyramid. The Jaffa stationed at the door stood aside without a word and they passed him without speaking. They burst into the room where Sam had first seen Ma'at, and continued to the dais.

"What the hell is going on?" Sam demanded. "And don't you dare talk to me in riddles or tell me that I have to be patient and trust you. The colonel and Daniel are gone, and you know where they are!"

A shadow pulled itself away from a corner at the back of dais. Teal'c was already moving to stand in front of her, with his arms up in a defensive position, before she realized that shadow was a person. As that person moved to stand next to Ma'at, Sam's heart jumped into her throat again.

"Martouf?"

* * *

Jack didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he knew it was bad.

One minute, he and Daniel were turning around to see what made the noise in the pyramid, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up on the dirt floor of some tunnel with his hands tied behind his back, looking directly at a very unconscious and apparently equally bound Daniel. A closer inspection of Daniel's face revealed a small trickle of blood running down from a cut above his right eye. A quick assessment of his own physical state led to the conclusion that he most likely had a similar wound located above his left ear. They'd both been hit in the head with something, obviously.

Having been knocked unconscious and tied up while in a pyramid on what had once been a Goa'uld controlled world could really only mean one thing, and Jack didn't have to look far to confirm the identity of their assailants. There were five Jaffa standing over them, looking down at them. Jack recognized them all. He didn't know any of their names, but he knew that these were Saq'ar's men.

"What the hell?" Jack asked, not really expecting an answer. "I thought you guys were on our side."

"Ah, protector! You have awakened!"

Jack jerked his head back and stared at Niuserre in hatred. "You son of a bitch," he said. "What the hell do you think you're playing at?"

"Oh, this is no game, protector," Niuserre said.

The priest moved closer to Daniel and knelt at his side. He reached down and ran his fingers through Daniel's hair again, and Jack pulled against the ropes around his wrists frantically.

"Don't you touch him!" he ordered. "Get your damn hands off!"

"You do take your responsibility seriously, protector. I can see now why it was you who was chosen for it. I will admit that when I first met you, I was jealous of your position in his life, but now that I have seen you with him, I understand that I could never compare to you." Jack's struggles were futile, and it was obvious they both knew it, because Niuserre looked down at Daniel again and paid him no more mind. "He is as beautiful as I imagined he would be."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack demanded. "Get the hell away from him!"

"I will not harm him, protector," Niuserre said. "I have been waiting for this day from the moment of my birth. He is as safe with me as he has ever been with you."

"Yeah, I doubt that," Jack spat back. "Because I'm not the one who busted his head open!"

"Yes, that was an unfortunate necessity," Niuserre said. "But how else was I to get you to this place, to meet your destiny?"

Daniel moaned, and his eyelids fluttered. Jack turned his full attention to him.

Niuserre was gently sweeping Daniel's hair away from his face, muttering to himself about how beautiful he was and how perfect it was, and all Jack could think was how beautiful and perfect Niuserre's death would be.

Daniel's eyes opened briefly, but closed again almost immediately.

"Daniel," Jack said softly. "Open your eyes, Daniel."

"Jack?" Daniel's eyes blinked rapidly, and Jack could tell that he was fighting to focus them. "What happened?"

"We've got a bit of a situation here," Jack said.

Daniel's eyes shot open fully, and he locked his gaze on Jack. He could tell by the way Daniel's shoulder stiffened that he'd figured at least part of that "situation" out.

"It's Niuserre again," Jack said. "And five friendly Jaffa."

Daniel sighed and closed his eyes again, but he didn't speak.

"It is wonderful to see that you have awakened as well, young one," Niuserre said.

He stood, and Jack could see the way Daniel's body relaxed the second the man's hand was off of him.

"Your future, and your past, await you both," the priest said.

Jack saw him motion to the Jaffa, and he felt himself being lifted up off the floor by two of the Jaffa. He saw two more lifting Daniel the same way. Once they were mostly steady on their feet, they were led down the tunnel, with Niuserre in front of them and the remaining Jaffa following behind.

They hadn't gone very far before Niuserre was pushing open a set of doors and he and Daniel were being half-carried/half-dragged through them. They were moved to the center of what had to be the largest room Jack had ever seen, ornately decorated with gold and jewels. As gaudy and obnoxious as the decorating was, Jack could only assume that it was some sort of Goa'uld throne room.

He and Daniel were forced onto their knees in the center of the room, then the Jaffa stepped back. Niuserre rushed past them and toward a door at the back of the dais in front of them.

Jack stayed as upright as possible, but Daniel sank back and sat on his heels.

"How you doing, Daniel?" Jack asked.

"Got a headache," Daniel answered. "Really don't like Niuserre anymore."

"That's okay," Jack returned. "I never liked him."

Niuserre walked back through the door he'd disappeared behind, but he wasn't alone. An ancient-looking woman followed behind him slowly, draped in white robes and covered in gold and jewels. Her body and face gave the appearance of a fragility that her steady steps didn't support, her wrinkled face and long grey hair spoke to an age that her eyes didn't seem to share.

She walked down the steps and toward them, not stopping until she stood directly in front of Daniel. She leaned forward, reached down, and placed her hand against the side of his face. Daniel jerked away instantly.

Jack wasn't really surprised when her eyes started glowing. Honestly, with the day they were having, he doubted that anything she could do or say would be able to surprise him.

"Our beloved son. Long have we awaited the day when we would lay our eyes on you once more."

Okay, so that surprised him.

* * *

"Nephthys has taken Daniel and Colonel O'Neill," Martouf said.

"That's impossible," Sam protested. "She's not here anymore. Everyone we've talked to has said that she's..."

"She's been in seclusion for the past several hundred years," Martouf interrupted. "But she is here, and she has been all along."

"You knew of this threat?" Teal'c demanded. "Yet you did not inform us?"

Martouf shook his head. "I am sorry, Teal'c. I only arrived myself a few moments ago, but I did know about the situation. Ma'at contacted us the day after you arrived, to inform us that SG1 was on Iunu and that you had been cut off from Earth by the flooding. I came as quickly as I could, and I regret that I was not in time to help you protect the colonel and Daniel."

"If you told him," Sam said, spinning on Ma'at, "then you knew, too. And you didn't tell us, either. Don't say you never had the chance, because you did and you know you did. All those times that the colonel caught you staring at us, and every time he moved toward you, you ran off. If what I saw comes true, if she kills them..."

Ma'at shook her head in denial. "She will not kill them," she said. "On the contrary, I believe that she will do everything she can to protect them."

"For what reason would a Goa'uld protect two Tau'ri?" Teal'c asked. "Particularly two Tau'ri that we can safely assume her high priest has informed her were involved in the death of her husband?"

"She will not be upset with them for that," Ma'at said. "Again, on the contrary, she will be grateful to them. Seth stole her child from her and banished her from her home. She held nothing but contempt for him."

"That still doesn't explain what she wants with them!" Sam cried out. She spun toward Martouf frantically. "Why did she take them, if she's not angry?" she asked. "What is it she wants from them?"

Martouf placed a gentle hand against her arm. "We have been monitoring Nephthys for centuries," he began. "She was never considered a true threat, because she showed none of the signs of inherent evil that the other System Lords did. We allowed her to live here with her followers without interference, because she was good to them. We believed that we would be doing more harm than good if we assassinated her, and we did have other Goa'uld to contend with who were much bigger dangers to the galaxy than she."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"It will, Samantha," Martouf said. "I promise. But you need to understand that Nephthys is unlike any other Goa'uld you have yet encountered, and hopefully unlike any you will face in the future."

"Why, if she is not a threat, do you hope we see no more like her?" Teal'c asked.

Ma'at settled down on the top step of the dais and looked down at where Teal'c and Sam sat on the bottom. Martouf was sitting behind Sam, and one step up.

"Over the decades and centuries of her early banishment, Nephthys became incredibly fond of her host," she said. "And her host of her. They became friends."

"Impossible," Teal'c scoffed. "Goa'uld do not have friends."

"Nephthys did," Ma'at insisted. "Her whole life as a Goa'uld was spent opposing Seth, and Apophis, and Ra, and all of the other System Lords that wished to enslave the galaxy."

"But she brought Osiris back to life?" Sam asked.

"As a favor for her sister, Isis," Ma'at explained. "Yes. But Isis was no more like her husband than Nephthys was like Seth. They were both strong, competent leaders and loving mother figures to the people that worshiped them. They never wished to rule any more people than they did, and they took care of the followers they had."

"Her host was one of her handmaidens in her palace on Earth," Martouf interjected. "She and the girl grew fond of each other, Nephthys offered her immortality, and the girl accepted. As far as we are aware, she is the only Goa'uld host to have ever been blended voluntarily."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Sam demanded.

"When a Goa'uld remains in the same host for more than two or three centuries, changes start taking place," Ma'at said. "It becomes impossible for the symbiote to leave that host, even if they wish to. They become so blended that there is no chance of separating them, either mentally or physically. And as the effects of aging begin to wear on the host, the symbiote is similarly affected. Their blended mind becomes weak, unstable, incapable of separating fantasy from reality."

"You are saying that Nephthys is insane," Teal'c said.

"Yes," Martouf said. "That is exactly what we are saying."

"Okay, so she just took them because she's nuts?" Sam asked. She jumped to her feet and spun around in frustration. "Why couldn't you just tell us that in the first place?"

"No, Samantha," Ma'at answered. "She did not take them just because she is insane."

"Well then what?"

"She took them because she believes Daniel Jackson is her son."

* * *

"Lady, you're cracked."

"I'm not Anubis."

The smile on the Goa'uld's face didn't fade, and Jack wondered if she'd heard what either of them said or if she was just ignoring them.

"Soon, you will remember your true self," she said, and Jack decided that she was ignoring them. "I know that your father poisoned your mind and made you forget me, but soon, very soon, you will not pull away from the touch of your mother's hand."

"I'm not him," Daniel said again.

She ignored him again and turned toward Jack. "Our priest informs us that you have served us well, Apuat. That you have protected and cared for our son as we would have done had we been able. You have our gratitude, and your reward will be great."

Jack couldn't help the shudder that ran through him when he heard those words. He'd heard them before, and he didn't remember much being great about the reward he'd been given then.

"He's not Apuat," Daniel said. "And I'm not Anubis."

"I have watched you for many days," Nephthys went on. Her dedication to ignoring them was almost admirable. Or at least, it would have been, if she weren't completely off her rocker. "I have seen you in the temple, reading and speaking in the language of your fathers. I have watched you gaze at the sunrise and sunset over the desert sands, over the pyramid. I have seen you smile as you think of your true home in Egypt."

"I'm an Egyptologist," Daniel said. "Of course I can read and speak the language."

"And you both read and speak the words of your Goa'uld brethren."

"Yeah, that's my job."

Jack shot Daniel a sideways but concerned glance. He could only imagine how badly Daniel had to be freaking out inside at that moment, because he knew that he sure was and he wasn't the one being accused of being a Goa'uld, but he wasn't letting it show in his voice. If anything, the only thing his voice sounded was bored.

"It is your birthright. And you will reclaim it." Nephthys stepped away from them, and motioned to the Jaffa that surrounded them.

Before Jack had time to react, Daniel was being pulled away from him and to his feet, and two massive hands had clapped down on his shoulders, holding him in place on his knees.

"Daniel!" Jack cried out in a panic. "Put him back. God damn you, leave him alone!"

He knew it was pointless, but he fought against the hands and ropes that held him bound on the floor. He couldn't let them take Daniel out of that room, he couldn't let them be separated.

The Jaffa dragged a struggling Daniel along after their goddess, and when she stopped, so did they. They kept their hands on his arms, holding him in place, on his feet directly behind her.

When Nephthys turned around again, she was smiling.

* * *

"If you are to lead us, my beloved pet, you must join us."

"I'm not him," Daniel repeated. He was beginning to feel like a broken record, but he had to keep trying. He could only hope that one of these times, his words would get through to her and she would understand. "I'm not Anubis."

As Daniel had expected, Nephthys continued as though he hadn't spoken at all. "You must make the journey for yourself, my son, and return victorious, as Osiris did those many years ago."

Daniel froze.

"Um… what?" It wasn't the most eloquent thing he'd ever said, but it definitely got his point across. She couldn't possibly be talking about what he thought she was talking about, could she?

Nephthys inclined her head and smiled at him indulgently. "You must be led before the Court, you must be weighed, and you must be found worthy. Your uncle endured much during his journey, but he proved his worth. No one doubted his right to lead us upon his return."

Daniel closed his eyes. She was talking about what he thought she was. He ran through the stories in his head as quickly as he could; he had to find a loophole, and he had to find it now, or he was in serious trouble.

He spared a second to glance across the room at Jack, who was still struggling on his knees on the floor, surrounded by Jaffa. So far, they weren't making any move to hurt him, but Daniel knew that it was only because they believed him to be Apuat. No Jaffa would willingly put hands on a member of the Court, but Daniel had to wonder how much longer that would last. If Jack knew exactly what Nephthys was talking about, his "royalty" probably wouldn't protect him too much longer.

He could see the question in Jack's eyes, and Daniel knew exactly what was being asked of him.

_'What's she talking about, Daniel? Tell me what she's saying so I can decide what to do about it.'_

_'Oh, this is not good, Jack. This is so not good. And I can't tell you what she means right now, because I need you here when she's gone.'_

Jack didn't like that answer, but Daniel knew he'd accept it for the time being. There was absolutely no way that Daniel wanted Jack finding out what was about to happen while Nephthys was still in the room. The last thing he needed right then was for Jack to go and get himself killed trying to prevent something that couldn't possibly be stopped.

Nephthys was looking at him expectantly, obviously waiting for the joyous reaction she thought he should be having to her latest plan, but Daniel saw absolutely nothing to be joyous about. She wanted him to earn his place as the supreme god of the dead by becoming one of them. She wanted him to somehow lead himself to judgment… and he'd found his loophole.

"If I was Anubis, which I'm not, by the way, how exactly would you expect me to act as both guide and guided?" he asked.

Nephthys smiled again, another long-suffering motherly smile, and raised her hand. "Of course you cannot guide yourself through the gates," she answered, her voice making it clear that she thought he was being nothing more than silly. Then she did something that Daniel hadn't been expecting at all. She turned and gestured grandly at Jack, who looked on in absolute confusion. "Your brother shall guide you."

Daniel's eyes widened in shock. On one hand, he supposed this was a good development, because there was no one better to have at his side for what was coming. On the other hand, when Jack found out what Nephthys expected him to do, he was going to lose it.

"I leave you to contemplate your journey together," Nephthys announced. She reached out her hand and gently touched the side of Daniel's face. He pulled away from her again.

When Nephthys disappeared through the door behind the dais again, with Niuserre trailing along behind her like a love-struck puppy, the Jaffa untied their hands. Jack spun on his guards with his fists raised, but a soft, "Don't, Jack," from across the room stopped him.

The second the Jaffa walked out the door, Jack crossed the room quickly. Daniel hadn't moved since she'd touched him.

"So what is that all about?" Jack asked, obviously agitated by Daniel's response. "What the hell, Daniel?"

Daniel shrugged. "She's crazy."

"Yeah, got that."

"She thinks I'm Anubis."

"Got that, too," Jack said. "And she called me an asshat."

Daniel snorted out a half-hearted laugh. "Apuat," he said. "She called you Apuat."

"So what's an Apuat?"

"Well, depending on which version of the legend you're reading," Daniel said. "Apuat is either another name of Anubis..."

"Not that," Jack interjected. "Because she thinks you're him."

"Anubis' brother..."

"She called me that, didn't she?"

"Or Anubis' caretaker."

Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Caretaker as in...?"

"Nanny," Daniel answered with an ironic smile. "Babysitter."

"Oh."

Daniel looked Jack directly in the eye. "Now where would she get a crazy idea like that?"

Jack ignored the barb and returned to his original line of questioning. "So what is this journey I'm supposed to be leading you on?"

"She wants to weigh my heart," Daniel answered.

Jack scratched at the side of his nose absently. "Um... you're using it."

Daniel shook his head. "Not for much longer, if she gets what she wants from you."

"Okay, so what exactly does she want from me?" Jack demanded.

"She wants you to 'lead' me through the test that I have to pass to gain entrance to the underworld."

"Small problem with that plan," Jack said. "You're not dead."

"Yeah, there is that. But I don't think that's going to be a problem much longer."

Jack cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly. He obviously didn't like the sound of that any more than Daniel did. Daniel shrugged and sighed, then turned and looked Jack straight in the eye.

"She wants you to cut my heart out. Literally."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"We do not have much time," Ma'at said as she stood up from the step and walked across the room. "Already she has put her plan in motion, and Daniel and your colonel are in serious danger."

"Wait a minute." Sam pushed herself to her feet and chased after her. "I thought you said she wouldn't kill them."

"She will not hurt or kill them irretrievably or permanently," Ma'at said. She turned back to face Sam slowly. "But she will not rest until she has her son at her side again."

"That is impossible," Teal'c said from the step he still sat on. "Anubis is dead."

"We know," Martouf said with a nod. "But Nephthys doesn't. And she will do everything in her power to convince Daniel that he is Anubis. She won't stop until he admits that he is."

"He won't," Sam insisted. "He'll never say that."

Martouf stood and crossed the room toward her. "You know how simple it is to weaken a human mind enough to convince it of anything, Samantha. Thanks to Ma'at's relationship with Nephthys, we know her full plans. Believe me when I say that by the end, Daniel will be falling at her feet to confess that he is her son."

"No," she said. "Not Daniel. It'll never work."

"But it will work," Martouf returned with a sad smile. "She has the technology that she needs to do it. She has Nishta..."

"Won't work," she said again. "Daniel's immune to Nishta. We all are."

"She has a liquid form of the same control drug that Hathor had access too..."

Sam shook her head with a smile. "That won't work either, because he's immune to that, too. Hathor said that."

"And she has a sarcophagus."

Sam closed her eyes to hold back the tears that had sprung into them.

* * *

Daniel was pacing around the room nervously, and Jack didn't really blame him. It had to be damn scary to find out that an insane Goa'uld thought you were its kid. And when that same Goa'uld told you that it was going to have your best friend cut your heart out of your chest while you were still alive...

"Hey," Jack said, though he didn't think he really needed to. "You know I'm not gonna do it, right?"

Daniel didn't even look at him, just kept pacing around the room.

"Daniel?" Jack pushed himself up from the step he'd been sitting on and walked toward him. "You do trust me not to cut your heart out, don't you?"

Daniel looked up at him that time, but still didn't answer, and Jack was really starting to worry.

"Do you trust me at all?"

Daniel was obviously no longer content with just not looking at him, because he purposely looked away.

Jack felt his stomach sink into his shoes. "Daniel, come on!" he begged. He stepped around in front of him, stopping his pacing and forcing him to look at him. "We had that whole thing the other day, you said we were good..."

"Better," Daniel croaked out. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I said we were better."

"But we had that whole talk, and I told you that I haven't lost any..." And suddenly Jack understood. He closed his eyes and dropped his hands to his sides.

"This isn't about me at all, is it?" Jack asked as he slowly opened his eyes. Again, Daniel didn't answer him; he just turned his head and looked away. That told Jack all he needed to know. "This isn't about you thinking I don't trust you."

"Jack...," Daniel began, but he still wouldn't look directly at him. He was staring off into space, into the corner, at nothing.

"It's a simple enough question, Daniel. I've asked you before and you've never had any trouble answering me. But this time, you're going out of your way to avoid it."

"I just... you know I can't..."

"You won't lie to me," Jack said. "So the fact that you're not answering me says that you'd be lying if you said yes."

"Please, don't do this," Daniel begged.

"You don't trust me any more," Jack said, surprised by how easily the words came out. He shook his head at the strangeness of it all. "You really don't."

Daniel leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "It's not that I don't want to, Jack."

"I know," Jack answered. A memory sprang into his mind, something Daniel had said that day in the temple. He'd only said it once, and he'd buried it under his rant about not being crazy. Jack had protested it, but had admitted to himself that Daniel was right. He should have known that it was more important to Daniel than he was letting on, because it had been one of the foremost thoughts in Jack's mind for two weeks. He knew what it was that was really bothering Daniel now; he knew for certain why Daniel didn't trust him any more.

"I didn't listen to you."

Daniel didn't speak, but wrapped his arms tightly around himself, and Jack knew that he was right.

"I should have."

"But you didn't." The words were whispered so quietly that Jack almost missed them. The pain in Daniel's voice was real, the feeling of betrayal almost palpable.

Jack shook his head. "No, I didn't. But it's not that I didn't want to, Daniel. And it's not that I didn't try."

"I know that."

"I didn't know what else to do."

"I know that, too."

"Yes, you do!" Jack said in frustration. "So what the hell is the...?"

"I was right."

"I know you were."

"I just... God, Jack, I..."

"You think I'm going to kill you?" He couldn't believe he was even having to ask the question, couldn't believe things had gotten this bad and hadn't gotten better at all, and he'd convinced himself that everything was fine again. "You honestly don't trust me enough not to?"

Daniel licked and bit his lips, and Jack could see how much trouble he was having answering the question.

"Just say it, Daniel," he said. "It's not like it's gonna make things any worse. If it's what you're feeling then just... just say it."

"I trusted you to not hurt me before," Daniel finally said. "And it didn't end well."

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head. "I didn't hurt you," he insisted. "I know the orderlies did and I saw the bruises, and I know I didn't stop them at the time, but I'll tell you what." He ducked his head to catch Daniel's eye. "We get back to Earth, I'm gonna find them, and I'm gonna kick their asses for you, okay? Maybe I'll even let Carter and Teal'c get in on it. But those bruises you had on your arms? Nothing compared to what we'll give them. Okay?"

"No, Jack," Daniel said desperately. "It's not okay. Because that's not the point. And beating up a couple of musclebound orderlies isn't going to fix anything."

"Then tell me what to do, Daniel," Jack insisted. "Tell me how to fix this, because we have to. And we have to do it now. We don't have a choice about it anymore."

Daniel looked up at him questioningly.

"I'm not really sure how this whole thing's going to play out," Jack said, "But I think it's a pretty safe bet that it's going to get bad. And if you don't even trust me to not kill you when some batshit crazy Goa'uld puts a knife in my hand...?"

Daniel turned away and walked back toward the doors the Jaffa had gone out through, and Jack sat back down on the step.

"I don't want to pressure you or anything." And it was actually true, because he'd have given anything to not be having the conversation at all. "But if you don't trust me, we're never going to get out of this."

He pressed his elbows against his knees, then leaned his head forward and scrubbed at his hair nervously. He looked up at Daniel again, saw the slump of his shoulders and absolutely defeated way he was standing, and pushed himself back to his feet. He was across the room and standing in front of Daniel again in seconds, then he grabbed Daniel's arms and squeezed them hard enough that Daniel cringed.

"I don't care what she does to me, Daniel," he said. "I will not hurt you. Do you hear me?"

There were tears in Daniel's eyes again, and just like before, Jack was the one who'd put them there.

"She won't make me do that," he swore. "She can't. I'd die first. I swear."

It was true, every single word. He could feel the truth of it coursing through his veins, growing stronger with every beat of his heart.

So why the hell couldn't Daniel believe it?

* * *

"She'll use Colonel O'Neill against him."

Martouf handed Sam and Teal'c the robes he'd pulled out of the small storage room in the village house, then reached back in and grabbed another for himself.

"The topical form of the mind control drug is stronger than anything Hathor ever used," he said. "He'll be absolutely powerless to stop her, and he'll not only believe whatever she tells him, but he'll act on any order she gives him."

"But why not just use that on Daniel?" Sam asked. She and Teal'c turned and followed Martouf back down the corridor to the main room. "Why go to all the trouble of... of cutting..."

"Why go to the trouble of brainwashing O'Neill to remove Daniel Jackson's heart before placing him in the sarcophagus when she could simply brainwash Daniel Jackson to believe he is Anubis?"

Sam gave Teal'c a small grateful smile.

"Fear," Martouf answered. "Betrayal of trust. The memory of the pain. The terror. She doesn't want him to only say that he is Anubis, she wants him to believe it. She wants to completely destroy everything that makes him Daniel Jackson and replace it with Anubis."

"So how do we stop it?" Sam asked. She looked from where Ma'at was carefully applying the heavy make-up that was so common in paintings of Egyptian gods to where Martouf was pulling his robe on. "There's four of us. Teal'c saw five Jaffa leave the arena earlier, we know Saq'ar is part of it which means that it's more likely more than those five involved, plus Niuserre. What exactly are we going to do?"

Ma'at stood and walked toward them, the controlled and regal way she carried herself making her look even more like the goddess she was pretending to be.

"There is an antidote for the drug she will use on your colonel," she said. "And because she will follow the legends so closely, we can be assured that she will dip her hands in water and bless O'Neill with her touch before the sacrifice begins. We need only put that antidote in the water, and she will free him from her control herself."

"And after that?" Teal'c asked. He'd slipped into his own robe and was making a few minor adjustments to it. "Will we have additional assistance? Are there more Tok'ra on the way?"

Martouf shook his head. "I was in the area to make contact with Ma'at. When I sent the message back to the Tok'ra High Council, I was denied assistance and told to handle the situation on my own."

Sam let her head fall forward. "Of course you were," she said dejectedly.

"We may face stiff resistance," Martouf admitted. "But the Jaffa know Ma'at as a figure of almost equal importance to Nephthys herself. They might be inclined to lay down their weapons if she orders them to do so."

"And if they don't?" Sam asked. She tied the gold belt Martouf had handed her around her waist.

"Then we kill them," Ma'at said simply.

"No," said a voice from the door. Four heads swiveled in surprise to see Dashu standing across the room from them.

"I have another idea."

* * *

Jack didn't know how long they'd been sitting in silence before the Jaffa came for them again, but he did know that it wasn't long enough to make him too weak to fight back. He jumped to his feet when he heard them outside the door, placed himself between the door and Daniel, and prepared himself to go out swinging.

Until the door opened, and Saq'ar was standing in it.

"Saq'ar!" Daniel cried in relief.

"Oh, thank God," Jack said at the same time. "You're smuggling us out of here, right? Carter and Teal'c outside? How long do we...?"

The words trailed off when another dozen Jaffa streamed into the room from behind him.

"What's going on?" Daniel asked. "Saq'ar what are you doing?"

"I am serving my goddess," he answered. Jack noticed immediately that he didn't sound the least bit happy about that fact, but at that moment in time, he really didn't care to give the man the benefit of the doubt. "As I have been preparing to do for my entire life."

"You son of a bitch!" Jack shouted as the Jaffa surrounded them.

"Saq'ar, how could you?" Daniel demanded. "After everything, how?"

Five of the Jaffa grabbed Daniel and pulled him toward the corridor.

"No!" Jack cried out. "Daniel!"

"Jack!"

"Saq'ar, stop this!" Jack begged. "Please!" The other seven dragged Jack toward the door Nephthys and Niuserre had used. Saq'ar hadn't moved since he'd stepped into the room, and didn't look like he would be moving any time soon. "God damn you, we trusted you!"

The irony of that last statement wasn't lost on Jack.

The door behind the dais slammed shut after Jack and the Jaffa with him went through it, so he didn't see Saq'ar's ultimate reaction. The Jaffa lowered his head and closed his eyes, shook his head and wiped the tears from his cheeks, then turned and walked into the corridor, pulling the door shut behind him.

* * *

Daniel had always hated people touching him without his permission.

His recent stay in Mental Health had made him hate it even more, and he was really starting to get sick of people forcing him to do things against his will. In the hour since he and Jack had been dragged from the throne room, Daniel had been stripped, bathed, dressed, then held down while servants put make-up on his face. His glasses had long-since disappeared, which meant he couldn't see anything other than vague outlines and floating shapes, and he knew that he was going to be sporting more than a few bruises on his arms.

_'If I live long enough to care,' _he thought as he stared at his own reflection in the mirror angrily.

He'd seen a thousand different versions of the outfit he was wearing over the years, and though they always looked somehow appropriate on the blocky, choppy people in the paintings, they looked ridiculous on him. He was wearing a white skirt that wrapped around him and stopped just above his knees, and nothing else. He had sandals on his feet, gold bands wrapped tightly around his upper arms, and heavy black lines of kohl around his eyes.

With the exception of blond hair that should have been black and fairly pale skin that should have been dark, he looked every bit the part that Nephthys was forcing him to play. She'd dressed him up as an Egyptian prince and then left him to stew about it.

He had no idea what had happened to Jack, but after what Nephthys had said she was going to make him do, and after what Jack had sworn would happen first, he didn't think he could handle actually knowing.

Saq'ar wasn't with the Jaffa when they returned for him, but Daniel didn't care. He didn't actually care if he ever set eyes on the man again.

_'That's what trust gets you,' _a voice in his head told him. _'That's why it's worthless to give. Everyone betrays you eventually, anyway.'_

He sighed deeply when the Jaffa grabbed his arms and moved him toward the door, and he didn't even really fight them. He was too tired, too frustrated, too hopeless. Fighting them wasn't going to work anyway, so why bother trying?

He changed his mind when they took him back to the throne room, and he saw the cross that had been constructed in the middle of the floor.

"No," he protested, pulling against his arms even as they moved him toward it. He kicked his feet, threw his head back in an attempt to hit someone with it, stomped his feet down on theirs, but none of it did any good. "No, no, no. Stop! Don't!"

They forced him to his knees in front of the cross without effort, then pushed him back against it. Two Jaffa held his wrists in place against the crossbeam while two more wrapped and knotted heavy rope around them, and two more secured his ankles to the support that ran from the middle back of the cross to the floor.

The Jaffa walked away again only moments later, leaving Daniel to pull and struggle against bindings that he already knew wouldn't give way. With one last futile yank, he let his head fall forward and forced himself to concentrate on breathing. Freaking out like that wasn't doing him any favors, and he knew it. This was happening, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The best he could hope for was that he'd still be himself after whatever was about to happen was done happening.

He heard the door open again, but he couldn't be bothered to lift his head and see who it was. There were only three people in Nephthys' little play who weren't already present and accounted for – two of them he wanted to kill and the other was going to be forced to kill him.

"Sekhem em-Pet."

He shook his head at Nephthys summons. He wasn't going to look at her, wasn't even going to acknowledge her. He'd be damned if he'd play into her delusional fantasies, and ignoring her couldn't be that hard, could it?

He found out just how hard she could make it when she grabbed his jaw in her hand and jerked his head up.

"You will respond when your mother speaks, my child."

"I'm not Anubis."

Nephthys smiled at him fondly, an expression that disturbed him greatly.

"You have not yet come to realize who you are, and I understand this," she said. "But soon, very soon, you will. And you and I, together, will return to Earth to rule the Ennead as we were always intended to do."

She let go of his jaw and stepped away, and all he did was close his eyes and shake his head.

"I'm not Anubis," he whispered.

"Finish the preparations," Nephthys said. "My priest and I will go and prepare ourselves as well. The sacrifice will begin upon our return."

"As you wish, my Queen."

Daniel's eyes shot open. It wasn't the words that bothered him nearly as much as it was the voice, and the face that went with it.

"Jack..."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"God, Jack, no. Oh, please, no."

Jack smiled at him almost exactly as Nephthys had before she'd left, and Daniel's heart fell into his stomach.

"There's not much longer," Jack said. "And there is much to do. I can keep you company as I work if you wish, young prince." He turned and walked toward the throne.

"Please don't leave me now, Jack," Daniel pleaded. "I can't do this without you."

Jack's steps faltered and slowed to a stop. He turned back to face Daniel, his expression one of confusion. Daniel thought he saw, for the briefest of heartbeats, a flash of life beneath the brown eyes that he knew so well, and he pressed harder.

"You've got to remember, Jack. Remember Sam, and Teal'c. They're out there somewhere, alone. We've got to find them."

Jack's head tilted slightly to the side, a gesture that was so familiar yet seemed so alien.

"You're not Apuat. God, Jack, we're not Goa'uld. We hate the Goa'uld! We fight them!"

Jack's eyes held Daniel's gaze steadily, and Daniel felt the hope rising in his chest. "You are in there, aren't you? I don't know what she's done to make you think you're Apuat, but you're not. Let me go, Jack. Untie me and whatever it is, whatever she's done, we'll find a way to fix it. Just cut me loose, and we'll…"

Daniel's pleas faded out when he realized the moment was gone. Jack's eyes had glazed over again; the confusion had been replaced by certainty. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"Your mother warned me how strongly your corruption grips you, but fear not, young prince. Your mind shall soon be your own again."

"Oh, God, Jack, please," Daniel begged, pulling against the ropes that bound his wrists tightly to the wooden frame. "Wake up, please. Don't do this."

The smile snaked across Jack's features; Daniel had never known that such a benevolent expression could be so evil. "I understand your fear, my prince, but it is unnecessary. Soon you will remember the truth. Soon you will be grateful to me for what I now do." He reached for something on the floor near the throne, and when he straightened back up he held a dagger in his hand.

Daniel pulled harder against the restraints, ignoring the blood that he felt beginning to flow freely from his wrists.

"Come on, Jack! You know who we are. You're not Apuat; you are Colonel Jack O'Neill of the United States Air Force. And I'm not Anubis. I'm Daniel Jackson, and I'm an archaeologist. And you're not my caretaker or my guardian or my protector – you're my friend."

"I held you in my arms at your birth," Jack said, his voice both nostalgic and wistful, the way he sometimes sounded when he spoke about Charlie. "I soothed your cries when your father poisoned you as a child. When your mother realized that you must be hidden away to protect you from him, I was chosen to stay with you, to raise you as my own, as your mother would have done, to one day claim your place with the Ennead." Jack lowered his eyes to the floor and bowed his head. "It is my failure to protect you that brings you to this place now. Had I not allowed your father to poison your mind…"

The words coming out of Jack's mouth could not possibly be his. Jack didn't know enough about Egyptian mythology to talk about any of this. The voice, so like Jack's, but so different – so calm and reassuring but so cold and detached. The speech pattern, so formal and old-fashioned and unlike Jack. So much like a Goa'uld…

Daniel's breath hitched in his throat and his eyes widened in fear, not for himself, but for Jack. He didn't want to believe it, fought against it with everything that was in him, but there was no other explanation that he could think of for why Jack was suddenly standing in front of him with an 8-inch dagger in his hand, preparing to carve his heart out.

"Oh, Jack," he whispered, closing his eyes to hold back the tears he felt welling behind them. He'd been so blind, so consumed with his own fear, that he hadn't seen what was right before him. He'd begged Jack – not Apuat, but Jack – to wake up, to spare him, to save him, but he knew now that this was no nightmare. This was a true and real hell, and his begging had served only to make Jack's own personal purgatory a hundred times more difficult to endure.

"Your pain shall be great, young prince," Jack's voice warned softly, "but the reward that awaits you upon your awakening on the other side is glorious. You are the heir to the Throne of Osiris. Your uncle's legacy is yours but for the asking."

Daniel's thoughts swirled in his mind, and the conclusion he reached was the only one that made any logical sense. Nephthys had obviously realized that no amount of pain, torture or force would convince them to take their places on the stage in her elaborate play, so she'd made other arrangements. She could not brainwash them into believing they were who she wanted them to be, so she had taken the decision away from them.

Jack's body, he fully believed, was host to a symbiote named Apuat.

Daniel's eyes darted around the room in sudden panic, searching for a solution that he knew wouldn't present itself, but he froze when they fell on the large golden object behind the throne, the damned device that still haunted his dreams. It hadn't been there before, because he'd have noticed it. But it was certainly there now.

Almost immediately, his body was filled with a longing he'd not felt in over a year, a weakness that he'd almost convinced himself he'd conquered. "No," he muttered to himself, closing his eyes again.

Jack noticed that Daniel was beginning to tremble against the cross, and he looked back over his shoulder. Another smile, one that Daniel didn't see, tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Why do you fight against the promise of eternal life, my prince? The power over life and death, your rebirth, your salvation?"

"My damnation," Daniel whispered as a single tear escaped his tightly closed eyelids to make its way down his cheek.

Jack stepped forward slowly, carefully. Daniel felt his heart pounding a rapid rhythm that threatened to explode from his chest and his breath coming in short gasps as his fear for himself and his fear for Jack threatened to overwhelm him. He kept pulling against the ropes at his wrists, keeping his face from showing the relief he felt inside when he felt his left arm begin to slip loose. He had to get free if he were going to get Jack out of this. He had to escape if either of them were to survive.

Jack's left hand reached out, and Daniel forced himself not to flinch away. Somewhere inside, somewhere behind those brown eyes, Daniel imagined Jack, trapped in his own mind, fighting a battle he could not hope to win. Daniel knew that his pleading had caused enough pain and no matter how much it hurt him to do so, he would not allow himself to fear Jack's touch now. He straightened his back as far as the ropes around his wrists and ankles would allow and breathed deeply, but he could not stop the fresh tear that slipped from his eye.

He felt the palm of Jack's hand against his cheek, the rough skin so warm against his own, and his mind was drawn back in time, to a Goa'uld mothership in orbit around Earth, when that hand against his face was the only thing that kept him sane, his only tether to the world he'd thought he was leaving behind. It was a feeling that should have brought him comfort, but in his heart he knew that this hand wasn't Jack's, and this touch wasn't comforting.

The thumb that wiped his tears away was almost too much for Daniel to bear, and he leaned into the hand, willing it to be Jack again.

"You need not fear, my prince. I am here to protect you, as I always have."

"Oh, God, Jack. I'm so sorry."

There was no reply, but Daniel knew that something had changed. The hand against his face seemed stronger somehow, less paternal but more concerned.

"Daniel?"

Daniel's eyes opened and his head shot up at the sound of his name in what was, unmistakably, Jack's voice.

"Jack!" he said quickly. "Hold on, Jack. Keep fighting! I've almost got my hand free. I'll get you out of here, I swear."

Daniel saw the clouds returning to cover the brown eyes, and he increased his struggles to free his left wrist. The blood was running freely down his arm, and then suddenly the ropes fell away, and he was free.

"I've got it, Jack! Just stay with me. Let me get…"

Daniel started to reach across to his right arm, real hope surging through him for the first time in hours. He had just convinced himself that escape was within their grasp when the hand that had been pressed against his face pulled away and caught his wrist.

"Do you trust me?"

The question was asked so softly that Daniel wasn't certain he'd heard it. He looked into Jack's eyes, hoping against hope that his friend would be looking back at him, with that same look of determination in his eyes that he'd worn only hours before.

"What?"

A small grin, slightly raised eyebrows, and a minute increase of the pressure on his wrist were followed by an equally hushed, "Do you trust me?"

Daniel opened his mouth to answer, knowing that the answer was yes. Jack had asked him before, and he'd been too upset to answer, too wrapped up in his own pain and fear, too busy battling his own monsters. Of course the answer was yes; it always had been.

So why couldn't he make himself say it out loud?

He closed his mouth, licked his lips, and shook his head, unable to speak.

Jack's grin softened into a knowing smile, and Daniel knew, too. He knew that whoever this was, it wasn't Jack anymore.

"You trusted me once."

Daniel couldn't bring himself to speak, couldn't trust himself to talk. It wore Jack's face, it spoke with Jack's voice, but it was not Jack.

"You will trust me again, my prince," Jack said. "When you most need to, you will trust me again."

Slowly, carefully, almost gently, Jack pressed Daniel's arm back against the cross again.

"No," Daniel choked out, letting his head fall forward and closing his eyes. "Please, no."

"Things will be the way they were before," Jack said. He slipped the dagger into the belt at his waist as he grabbed the rope and began wrapping it back around the wrist that Daniel had fought so hard to free. "You will know who I am, you will trust me, and you will know that I have done only what I needed to do to protect you."

Daniel shook his head silently and pressed his eyes more tightly closed.

Jack finished securing Daniel's wrist, much more tightly than before, and tied it off with a strong knot before moving over to make certain that his right wrist hadn't worked loose. He tightened it as well – Daniel could feel the ropes digging into his skin without him pulling against them – and then took one step back.

Daniel felt Jack's hand on his lowered head, gently smoothing his hair. "Your mother will be arriving soon," Jack said. "I must make the preparations."

One more tear escaped from between Daniel's eyelashes, sliding down his face before falling, ignored and forgotten, to the floor.

* * *

Nephthys wasn't gone long, and when she returned, she wasn't alone.

"My son!" she said excitedly. "Look who I bring to you. The Court of Osiris, assembled again to witness your ascension to the thrown our lord promised you all those many years ago. I could not have envisioned a more spectacular return for you than this."

Five more people entered the room, lead by a woman with long, straight black hair and the multi-layered robes of Egyptian royalty. The other four wore hooded robes that covered their heads, and Daniel squinted at them in confusion. He had no way of knowing who they were, or even who they were supposed to be, because none of them spoke.

Several more Jaffa entered, and then finally Saq'ar, who simply stood next to the door as though standing guard to make sure no one could go in or out without his permission.

They walked past the throne slowly, lined up along the edge of the dais and stood, simply watching. Nephthys walked to her throne, followed closely by Niuserre. When she reached it, she gestured for Jack to walk toward her.

"Come, my friend, Apuat," she said. "Receive the blessing of your goddess."

Daniel turned away, unable to watch the stranger with Jack's face responding to orders from any Goa'uld. He thought he saw one more person enter the room and stand to the back of the dais, in the shadows, but without his glasses, he couldn't be sure if he was really seeing it or not.

"For what you do today, you will be rewarded richly and blessed throughout your life, by your Lady Nephthys and your Lord, the blessed and beloved Anubis."

Daniel shook his head, closed his eyes, and leaned back against the cross when Nephthys put her hands on Jack's face in benediction.

"Open your eyes, our child," Nephthys commanded. "See your brother, he who raised you from a child, as he raises you to your throne."

He couldn't say that he wasn't scared because, in truth, he was terrified. Jack was walking toward him again, the dagger clutched in his hand. Nephthys was sitting on her throne grinning gleefully, with Niuserre standing just behind her shoulder. And now, they had this bizarre audience, more players for their stage, assuming the roles of the Court of Osiris, sans Osiris. The entire Ennead stood across the room from him, prepared to watch him die, to sanction his sacrifice in the hopes that he would return to life as Anubis.

Except he wouldn't; he couldn't. Jack would kill him, then put him in the sarcophagus, and when we woke up, he would still be Daniel Jackson, because that's who he was. The only thing that would change would be that he would know what it felt like to have his beating heart cut from his chest while he was still alive. He wondered if he would remember exactly what it felt like, if he would spend the rest of his life reliving the agony of his death over and over again. He wondered what Nephthys would try next, what fresh torture she had in mind to regain the son she claimed to love so much. He wondered how many times he'd go into the sarcophagus. How many times would it take until he was willing to become Anubis and forget that Daniel Jackson had ever existed?

The last thought made him pause and he glanced across at the sarcophagus.

All Nephthys really had to do to break him was put him in that sarcophagus. If he went in enough times, uninjured, he'd forget everything he was and become whatever she wanted him to be, just to be able to go back in again. He knew that about himself; Jack knew that, too.

So why hadn't Apuat seen fit to tell her?

There was only one answer that made any sense to Daniel, and as he watched Jack cross the final few feet between them, that answer brought him a small measure of comfort. Apuat hadn't told her that because there was no Apuat. There was no Goa'uld in Jack – if there were, he'd have told Nephthys about Daniel's addiction and exploited his weakness. So if there was no Goa'uld, then that meant that Jack was still... Jack. That didn't explain the dagger in his hand, or the fact that he'd bowed to Nephthys and called her his queen, or the strange way he'd talked to Daniel when they were alone, but Daniel was willing to give Jack the benefit of the doubt.

He had to.

Jack stopped directly in front of him and raised the dagger above his head. Daniel watched him wrap both hands around the handle, preparing himself to deliver a blow that would break Daniel's breastbone and slice deep into his chest. But it had to be part of a plan, didn't it? Jack always had a plan.

_'If you don't trust me, we're never going to get out of this.'_

Daniel nodded his head at the memory and forced himself to draw a quivering breath. He lifted his chin, looked Jack straight in the eye, and smiled.

"I trust you, Jack."

Then, unwilling to face the possibility that he was completely wrong and terrified that he might discover that Jack's plan involved actually slicing his heart out, Daniel leaned his head back against the cross and closed his eyes.

"I trust you," he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

For an impossibly long second, nothing happened. Daniel's heart hammered in his chest and he swallowed the fear that rose in his throat.

"Well, it's about damned time," Jack whispered back.

Daniel opened his eyes, almost not believing what he'd heard, but he knew it was real. If there were any doubt left, the wink Jack gave him removed it all.

"Apuat, why do you hesitate?" Nephthys demanded. "The Ennead await the return of their lord. Proceed with the sacrifice this instant!"

"I'm getting a little sick of her bossing me around," Jack muttered. "What do you say we get the hell outta here?"

Fighting to keep the overwhelming relief he felt from showing on his face, Daniel leaned his head back against the cross as though preparing himself for death. Taking advantage of the fact that Nephthys couldn't see his face from where she sat, Daniel spoke to Jack in whispered tones. "You okay?"

Jack smirked and huffed in disbelief. "You did not just ask me that. Who's tied to the cross here, buddy?"

"Jack..."

"I'm fine, Daniel," Jack answered quickly. "But I have got to get you the hell outta here." He stepped closer to Daniel, putting himself more in Nephthys line of sight, and held the dagger higher above his head.

"What are you doing?" Daniel asked nervously.

"Stalling for time," Jack said. "Don't really have a plan yet."

Daniel's eyes widened.

"Hey, I've been me again for about thirty seconds. I'm good, but I'm not that good. Give me a minute." He took a deep breath and lowered the knife, holding it in front of him and pretending to focus on it. "How many Jaffa?"

Daniel glanced around the room quickly without lifting his head. "Looks like twelve."

"And the others? Court of Osiris people?"

"Five. Maybe six. Not really sure."

"Priest makes seven, and the crazy lady makes eight, so... the odds are ten to one, you're already bleeding, and you're wearing a skirt." Jack closed his eyes and raised his arms, and the knife, above his head once more.

"You're not dressed much better than I am," Daniel pointed out. He was taking comfort in the familiar pattern of banter, giving Jack the time he needed to come up with a plan to get them out of this. "You just got longer robes and a strap to hold them up."

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not wearing make-up," Jack shot back.

"Apuat!" Nephthys' voice was shriller than usual. She was obviously loosing patience with her servant.

"In a second!" Jack called out. His eyes shot open and he looked at Daniel in panic as he remember the part he was supposed to be playing. "My queen!" he added hurriedly.

Daniel caught a hint of movement from the corner of his eye, and he locked eyes with Jack. "Someone's coming."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jack muttered. His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. "It's not Saq'ar, is it?"

"No."

"Good. Because that would be awkward."

Daniel blinked and tried to focus his eyes. "I think it's Niuserre."

"Oh, even better." Jack shook his head quickly. "Okay, we've got one chance, but we've gotta move fast, and we need to let him get close enough before we do it. If I cut one wrist loose, can you get the rest of the way free?"

Daniel nodded quickly.

"Okay. Get ready." Jack planted his feet shoulder width apart and bent his knees slightly, lifting the dagger high above his head one last time. "Whatever you do, Daniel, don't move." Jack looked at Daniel's face for confirmation, and Daniel gave it to him by taking a deep breath, relaxing as much as he could, and smiling. Jack smiled back at him.

The priest was closer now, almost close enough for Jack to touch. 'Just a little more,' Daniel thought. 'A little closer.' Niuserre took one last step, and Daniel turned his head to look Jack directly in the eye.

"Now."

In one smooth motion, Jack flipped the dagger around in his hand so that the blade was facing out, thrust his arm forward and then swung it back, spinning with it as he did. The forward motion sliced cleanly through three of the four loops of rope around Daniel's left wrist. The backswing and spin brought his body to within inches of Niuserre's, and buried the blade of the dagger deep in the exposed flesh of the priest's neck.

Niuserre went down.

Nephthys shrieked.

All hell broke loose.

* * *

Jack saw the Jaffa rushing toward him, and held the knife up in front of him.

"Jack!" Daniel cried out in a panic.

Jack turned quickly and saw immediately what the problem was. Daniel was pale and tugging frantically at his left wrist, which was still attached to the crossbeam with one strand of rope. Jack's slice through the bindings had loosened them, but each loop had been knotted individually. And he hadn't cut through them all.

Daniel was still tied to the cross.

"Damn it!" Jack yelled as he rushed forward.

He saw the so-called Court of Osiris moving then, out of the corner of his eye, and he stopped for a fraction of a second when he saw what they were doing. The robes they'd worn, which had covered their faces, were being thrown off, and Jack couldn't help the shout of relief.

"Yes!"

"What?" Daniel asked, though he didn't look up. He was still pulling his arm against the ropes, struggling to free himself.

"Cavalry's here!" Jack declared. He stepped up to Daniel's left side and grabbed the stubborn loop of rope in his hand. "Hold still."

Daniel stopped fighting and looked around for the cavalry Jack had mentioned. It didn't take him long to find them.

"Sam! Teal'c!" A beat. "Martouf?"

Jack had to suppress a smile. He'd thought the exact same thing.

None of them acknowledged Daniel's shout, but Jack hadn't really expected them to. They were a little busy, fighting off the dozen or so Jaffa that were trying their damndest to kill him and Daniel.

"No!" Nephthys screamed. "Our child! They are stealing our child!"

"God, I wish she'd shut up!" Jack shouted as he sliced through the last piece of rope on Daniel's wrist. He gripped Daniel's shoulder briefly as he walked in front of him, intending to cut his other arm loose, too.

"Jack, look out!"

"Betrayer!"

Something slammed into Jack's back with enough force to slam him face-first into the stone floor, briefly dazing him. He flipped to his back and brought the knife up to defend himself.

Nephthys was standing above him, staring down at him with wild eyes full of fury.

And she had a dagger of her own.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Teal'c saw Saq'ar across the room, standing against the wall, staring at the rapidly growing violence. One of his men was already dead. Zats were firing in every direction. It wouldn't be long before SG1 and the two Tok'ra with them started shooting to kill, if only to defend themselves.

"Order your men to stand down!" Teal'c shouted to Saq'ar desperately.

Saq'ar turned toward him when he heard the summons, and there was such great sadness and disillusion in his eyes. He was torn between the honor of the goddess he'd worshiped only in theory and the live of the men he'd known and trained with since birth.

"She is a false god. You know this to be true!"

The battle raged on. Teal'c turned to fight back against the Jaffa that were suddenly filling the room, having come from other parts of the temple when they heard the disturbance.

"Saq'ar! We have no wish to kill these men! Order them to stand down!"

The Jaffa were streaming into the room now, and Teal'c found to his dismay that he recognized most of them. He'd trained with these men for two days, preparing for the tournament. He'd never imagined that he'd be forced to fight them to save his own life, or those of his friends.

"Brother!" Teal'c tried one last time. "Help us!"

"Jaffa! Kree!"

Most of the fighting stopped immediately, though a few minor skirmishes remained.

"Jaffa!" Saq'ar bellowed again. This time, all attention turned to him.

"You have been misled, my brothers. This creature is not our goddess. She is an imposter!" Teal'c nodded his head, both in approval and in understanding. Saq'ar understood the specifics of the Goa'uld, but he couldn't be so sure that all of them would.

"These you fight are our friends. They have eaten at our tables. They have slept within our walls. We will give them protection."

Teal'c watched as one by one the Jaffa lowered their stances, and the allies lowered their weapons. He heard Sam exhale in relief beside him and turned toward her. He'd just nodded his head to her when he heard the desperate and panicked cry from across the room.

"No! Daniel!"

* * *

Daniel had seen Nephthys coming before Jack did, had tried to call out a warning, but he'd been too late. She'd knocked him to the ground and was standing above him, dagger in her raised fist, before Jack had been able to react at all.

In the midst of all the chaos, Daniel reached across himself with his left arm and started working frantically to free his right wrist. He had four knots to work loose on his arm, and then three more on his ankles, and he didn't think he had very long to get it done.

His thoughts were proven right when he saw Nephthys pick Jack up from the floor and throw him bodily into the wall. Daniel cringed in sympathy when he heard Jack's head hit the stone, but he didn't stop working on the ropes. He'd gotten one knot completely loose and was just starting on the second when he heard Jack cry out.

"No! Daniel!"

He looked up just in time to see her coming, but nowhere near in time to get out of the way. He had enough time to notice that her insanity was clearly visible now, her eyes wild with it, her hair flying madly in all directions. He also had enough time to realize that she was headed straight for him with her dagger held high above her head.

He pushed with his knees and flung his left arm out to the side, flattening himself against the cross at his back, but he knew it wasn't going to be enough. He knew it wasn't going to work.

Nephthys left her feet and jumped toward him, dagger held in front of her. He could hear a thousand different sounds in the room at that second, people moving, shouting, running, but all he could see was her. And everything was moving in slow motion.

He didn't feel the blade at first, which struck him as odd, because he was watching when it broke through his skin, digging itself deep into the meat above his ribs. And as he watched Nephthys fall forward, her own body weight dragging the knife down further, pushing it in deeper, he couldn't help but be fascinated by the amount of blood that poured out from the wound. It was past his ribs, then, slicing further down his side and into the sensitive skin of his belly. That was when he started to feel it.

He threw his head back and screamed.

He saw Jack launch himself at Nephthys with a scream of his own, though Jack's sounded more like rage and less like pain. He landed on her back, just as she'd done to him, and tackled her to the ground. But instead of standing above her, Jack straddled her back. He took advantage of her moment of shock to raise his dagger and plunge it into the back of the host's neck with both hands.

Even if he hadn't managed to severe the host's spinal chord with that one blow, he had cut the symbiote within in half.

* * *

Nephthys was dead.

He'd done it. For everything she'd done to him, for everything she'd forced him to almost do to Daniel, for every evil thing she'd ever even thought about – he'd killed the bitch. But it hadn't been enough, it wouldn't be enough, and it couldn't be enough.

Because if the amount of blood pouring out of him was anything to go by, it didn't look like Daniel would be far behind her.

"No," Jack begged as he pushed himself forward on his hands and feet. "No no no."

Daniel had crumpled forward as far as his bonds would allow, all of his weight suspended from his right wrist. His left hand was pressed loosely against the top of the wound in his side, and he was staring down at it with a look of morbid fascination on his face.

Nephthys' body had fallen at Daniel's knees, with her left hand and the knife in it resting against Daniel's hip. It was obscene to Jack, her hand being on Daniel's skin like that. He grabbed her arm and flung it away in disgust. The dagger, it's once-shining blade now slicked with Daniel's blood, clattered when it hit the stone.

"Daniel?" Jack fell to his knees in front of him, took Daniel's left hand in his right and moved it away from the wound so that he could see how bad it was. "Oh, God."

He hadn't meant to say it out loud, but he hadn't been able to stop it. Daniel looked up at him slowly, with eyelids already drooping.

"That's bad."

"No," Jack lied. "No, it's fine. You're fine."

Daniel's head fell forward, and Jack pressed his hand against the side of his face, holding his head up and looking him in the eye. He ignored the fact that he was smearing Daniel's blood all over his own face, because if he had to stop and think about that, he didn't think he'd make it through this.

"Do you hear me, Daniel? You're fine. It's just a scratch."

"Sure, Jack," Daniel said weakly. "...ever you say."

And it was just a scratch, Jack told himself. A scratch wide enough and deep enough that he could see Daniel's ribs through it, but still just a scratch.

"Carter!" he cried out. "Teal'c!"

"You're bleeding."

Jack shook his head and blinked in shock, but recovered quickly. He hadn't thought about the blood running down his face since he'd hit the wall, and he didn't intend to start now. "Yeah, well... so are you." He swallowed hard and tried not to think. "Now be quiet. No talking right now."

Daniel started to nod, but seemed to lose all strength in his neck instead. His head fell forward again, and Jack gently pushed it back up with the hand he had against Daniel's face.

"Hey, hey, hey now. No passing out. You hear me?"

Daniel's eyes started to flutter closed.

"No, Daniel," Jack begged. "Keep your eyes open. Look at me."

He could see Daniel trying, fighting what was sure to be a losing battle to stay conscious, but it was all they had, and that would have to be enough for now.

And then Sam and Teal'c were at his side. He didn't know how long they'd been there, and he didn't care. What mattered was that they were there.

"Help me get him down."

He wanted to believe that his voice wasn't shaking as much as his hands were, that he sounded like he'd just given a command, not a plea. He managed to convince himself it had been an order, because they both jumped to follow it.

Teal'c walked over to Nephthys' dead body and pulled the dagger out of her spine without remorse, then walked behind Daniel and knelt down to cut through the ropes around his ankles. Sam walked to Daniel's left side and took his hand in hers, holding it up and out of Jack's way. He could see her rubbing circles on the back of it already, and it looked like she was trying to keep Daniel calm.

Jack looked up, and he realized that there was no point in trying to keep Daniel calm. Because the problem was that he already was calm. Too calm, in fact. He was smiling.

"Hey, Sam," he said tiredly.

"Hey, Daniel," she said back. And if her voice was shaking, too, Jack wasn't going to mention it.

Teal'c pulled the knife through the last loop of rope around Daniel's ankles. Freed from their binding, Daniel's feet moved apart naturally, which jarred his legs, hip, and ribs every-so-slightly.

The result was a hissing gasp that froze Jack's blood.

"Easy, Daniel," Jack said. He positioned himself on his knees under Daniel's right arm and put one hand on his wrist as Teal'c stood and started cutting through the last set of ropes that held him to the cross. When those came free, Daniel was coming down, and if Jack wasn't careful, he'd be coming down hard.

"Just take it easy, big guy. We've got you."

Jack heard a rustling noise near them, and his head snapped around. Saq'ar had brought three of his men over, and they were currently dragging the "imposter" out of the room. It made Jack glad to see it, not only because they were getting rid of her, but also because they'd cleared the floor around them so that he could hopefully lay Daniel down without causing him too much pain.

"O'Neill."

Teal'c's soft tone was all the warning Jack would get of what was coming, and he understood that. He scooted as close to Daniel's arm as he could get while still holding on to his wrist.

"Hang on, buddy," he whispered. "You can do this."

Teal'c sliced through the last rope, and Daniel's arm fell free. Jack gripped it as tight as he could, trying to spare Daniel as much pain as he could. Then the rest of Daniel crumpled forward against him, into Jack's arms, the weight of him pulling his left hand out of Sam's grasp.

Jack lowered Daniel's arm quickly and repositioned his own arms, bringing his right hand up behind Daniel's head and his left hand on Daniel's lower back.

"It's okay," he kept muttering. "I've got you, Danny. It's okay."

He shifted his legs slightly, ignoring all the pressure on his knees, and turned so that he could lay Daniel down. Sam knelt across from him, reaching her arm under Daniel's back for extra support. And then Teal'c was standing above his head, with his hands under Daniel's shoulders. The three of them worked together and managed to get Daniel laid down on the ground with a minimum of movement.

Even still, Daniel's mouth was open in what Jack was certain would have been a scream, if he'd had enough strength to do it.

"Carter, med kit?"

She shook her head sadly as she handed him one of the discarded robes on the floor to use as a rudimentary wound dressing.

"We had no way to carry them, sir. I'm sorry."

"Okay. That's okay." Jack wished he could think of something else to say, because kneeling on the floor, in a puddle of Daniel's blood, and saying, "Okay," over and over again was anything but okay. He took the robe and pressed it tightly against the wound in Daniel's side.

Daniel reared up from the floor with more strength than he should have possessed, but Sam's hand on his shoulder pushed him back down again gently. "Just relax, Daniel. Let us take care of this."

Jack had seen the wound more clearly before he'd pressed the robe material against it. He could still see bone when he looked, which was why he wasn't looking.

"Teal'c!"

At there was Teal'c, on his knees at Jack's side. "Yes, O'Neill."

"There's a sarcophagus on the other side of the room. Go get it open."

And with a quick nod of his head, Teal'c stood to do just that.

"Jack." Daniel was shivering now; the blood that flowed from him freely despite Jack's attempts to staunch it was draining him of both life and warmth. Jack moved his right hand from the robe he held pressed so tightly against Daniel's side and placed it against a cheek that burned with cold.

"I'm right here, Daniel," he whispered. "Just hang on a little longer. T's gonna get that thing open, and we're gonna…"

"No," Daniel gasped weakly. "No sarcophagus."

"What?" Jack asked, incredulous. "Look, I know how you feel about those things, but now isn't exactly the time…"

"Won't be… m-me anymore."

Jack looked up at Sam and then across at Teal'c. Both of them looked as shocked as he felt. No way was Daniel going to die like this, bleeding to death on the floor of some crazy Goa'uld's temple a million light years from home – not if they could prevent it.

Jack moved his hand back to the makeshift pressure bandage and pressed harder, eliciting a moan. Daniel's back arched and his head tilted back. "God, that hurts!"

"I can imagine," Jack said, forcing his voice to remain calm despite the fact that he was anything but. "That's why we're putting you in there."

"Said… no…"

"Daniel," Sam said softly, causing him to turn his head slightly to focus on her. "We know what you're thinking, believe me. But there's no indication that using the sarcophagus when you're actually injured does any damage at all. I don't think you could get addicted again."

"I still am…" Daniel argued. "Already… feel it." He paused for a few seconds to catch his breath, and shook his head. "Don't want to… n-not again."

Jack sighed in frustration, and Daniel turned back toward him again. Jack switched to his best 'command' voice and said, "End of argument, Daniel. One way or another, you're getting in that sarcophagus."

"No… I'm not."

"Damn it, we are not going to just sit here and watch you die!" The words came out more vehemently than Jack had intended, and he immediately wished he could take them back. Daniel was in pain, suffering from massive blood loss, and quite possibly not in his right mind. There couldn't be any other explanation for his stubborn refusal to allow them to save him when they had the technology to do so at their immediate disposal.

Rather than react the way Jack was expecting him to – with fear and retreat – Daniel looked into Jack's eyes and smiled.

"S'okay, Jack," he forced out. "Doesn't hurt any m-more…"

Jack buried his reaction to that statement as deeply as he could. If Daniel was already going numb from the shock and blood loss, he would not be long for this world, or any other.

"We're not going to let you do this, Daniel," Sam said softly.

"I concur, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c added from across the room. "It would be a pointless death in that it could have been prevented."

Daniel didn't say anything, but Jack could feel him looking at him. He forced himself to ignore it, pretend that Daniel wasn't looking up at him with eyes that, while tired and filled with regret, were completely lucid. Daniel wasn't insane; he knew exactly what he was saying, and why.

"Promise, Jack. Promise me."

Jack sighed again and looked down, forcing himself to see the determination in those eyes. "I…" He stopped himself short and looked to the other two members of his team. Their opinions were clear; they didn't want Daniel to die, no matter what his thoughts on the matter were. They had the technology to save him, and neither of them saw any reason why they shouldn't.

Jack finally looked down at Daniel, and shrugged. "What's to stop us from waiting until you're dead and putting you in it anyway?"

Daniel shook his head slowly with a faint smile. "You wouldn't do that."

"How do you know that?" Jack asked.

"I trust you, Jack." There was no hesitation in Daniel's answer, no thought, no doubt.

Jack froze and stared down at Daniel in disbelief. All the times in the past week he'd wanted to hear Daniel say those words, had wanted Daniel to trust him again… and he'd picked the worst possible time to do it.

"Never stopped," Daniel continued. He closed his eyes and his smile widened. "Just forgot…"

"God damn it!" Jack screamed, at everyone and no one. "Somebody help him!"

Dashu was on her knees across from Jack almost immediately, pushing his hands away from Daniel's wound gently and lifting the robe carefully. The look on her face was one of intense concentration mixed with regret and guilt.

"I am sorry," she said softly. "He is injured beyond my means to heal." She bowed her head deeply. "Forgive me my friends. I beg of you."

Jack didn't have time to forgive anyone at that moment.

"Colonel," Sam said beside him. "You're thinking of not putting him in the...?"

"He trusts me," Jack muttered to himself. "I can't, Carter, we... I can't..."

Daniel's eyes had been closed for too long, and Jack was having a hard time swallowing around the enormous lump that had lodged itself in his throat. "Daniel, please," he begged. "Don't make me do this!"

Another hooded figure knelt down across from him, and Jack struck out his arm before he even thought about it.

"Get away from him!" he ordered. "Whoever you are, just get the hell away."

"Let me help him, Jack."

The hood fell away, and Jack almost fell over. If it hadn't been for Teal'c's hand grabbing his arm, he would have.

He didn't know what he was more grateful to see – Jacob Carter's face or the healing device he held in his hand.


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"How're you feeling this morning, Daniel?"

Jack didn't think he'd ever grow tired of rejoicing at being able to ask the question. Two days before, Daniel had all but bled to death on the floor of Nephthys' stupid temple, but barely forty-eight hours later, he was moving around on his own, albeit slowly.

God bless Jacob Carter and his refusal to accept the word "no" when his daughter and her friends were in danger.

Dashu had convinced Jacob to only heal Daniel partially, which was something that still confused Jack. He'd heard her explain it all, something about the wound being so deep that there was a danger of infection unless it was left partially open to heal on its own, but he hadn't understood it. Jacob hadn't looked like he quite understood it either, but Dashu had been insistent.

"It is a known weakness with the configuration of healing device you are using," she'd said. And Jack had to admit that she had spent more time studying those things than any of the rest of them had, so she probably knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Bit sore," Daniel answered. "But I'll be fine."

They'd moved into Niuserre's house after the incident at the temple, and none of them seemed to feel the least bit guilty about having done it. Dashu had invited them back to her home without so much as a moment of hesitation, but Jack knew that Saq'ar still felt a deep sense of guilt for his part in what had happened, and they had all agreed that it would be better for everyone if they weren't constantly getting under each other's feet.

So Daniel was sitting on the top terrace of the garden again, watching the sun rise over the pyramid. Jack sat down beside him.

"Water should have receded fully overnight," Jack said. "We might be able to go home today."

"Mmhm."

Jack was fairly certain that Daniel wasn't really listening to him, so he tried an experiment.

"Think I'll give Hammond a big old hug the second we set foot inside the SGC."

"You do that."

"Fraiser'll take one look at you and bundle you off to the infirmary so fast it'll make your head spin."

"Yep, sounds great."

Jack shook his head and tapped Daniel on the leg.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nephthys," Daniel answered.

Jack shook his head in disgust. "Don't," he commanded. "She doesn't deserve it."

"But it's like Ma'at said. She wasn't evil. She was just... desperate. I can't really hate her for that."

Jack snorted. "Don't worry. I'm sure I hate her enough for the both of us."

"Her son was everything to her," Daniel continued. "She'd spent so much of her life taking care of him, protecting him, giving him so much... then she made one mistake, and the person she cared for most in the world threw her away."

Jack opened his mouth for another smart-mouthed response, but he snapped it closed almost as fast.

Oh.

"It's understandable, isn't it? I mean, if someone you've kind of taken care of for a while, looked out for, risked your life for, can't forgive you for making a mistake? Even though you had the best of intentions when you did it?" Daniel raised his head slightly and glanced up at Jack through his eyelashes. "She just wanted him back."

Jack nodded then, in both understanding and acknowledgment of what Daniel was giving him, what he was accepting freely and without mentioning it by name.

"It can be kinda painful," he admitted. "But that really didn't give her the right to try to cut your heart out."

Daniel snorted a laugh, but doubled over and wrapped his arm around his side instead.

Jack leaned forward and grabbed his arm. "You okay?"

Daniel nodded while he took deep breaths. "Sore," he said again. "Laughing hurts."

"Sierra Golf Niner, this is Sierra Golf Too . Do you read?"

That crackling staticky voice was music to Jack's ears. He tripped the switch on his radio almost immediately.

"Hey, Lou!" he called out. "Welcome to Iunu!"

"Jack!" Lou Ferretti called back. "It is fantastic to hear your voice. You and your team all okay?"

Jack glanced across at Daniel, saw the way he was shaking his head at him frantically, and smiled. "For the most part," he said into the radio. "Alert Sierra Golf Charlie that we're coming in with one mostly recovered casualty that Napoleon might want a look at."

"Roger that, Jack. You need us to come get you?"

"Negative," Jack answered back. "We're two clicks out. We're moving a bit slow, but we can do it on our own. We'll meet you at the gate in sixty."

"Got it, Jack. See you soon."

Jack didn't have to turn around to know that both Sam and Teal'c had walked out on to the terrace behind him, each wearing their own pack and holding one extra.

"We heard the call on the radio," Sam said. "And we're ready to go whenever you are, sir."

Jack nodded and stood, then reached back down and helped Daniel to his feet, too. They started down the stairs and toward the street, with Daniel leading the way and Jack at his elbow the entire time.

"I think we can come back, Daniel," Sam said as they headed for the dune.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "The deaths of Nephthys and Niuserre have made Iunu a much more pleasant place to be."

Daniel looked over at Jack, and his expression was hard to read. He wasn't really smiling, Jack knew, but he wasn't really not.

"When you're ready, Daniel," Jack said. "Not until you're ready."

Daniel nodded slowly, took a deep breath and started up the dune.

"Once this is healed, I think I'm good to go," he said. He didn't even shrug off Jack and Teal'c's hands when they took his arms to help him climb up the sand.

"Just, no more of these easy missions for a while, okay?"

The sound of his team laughing, and in Daniel's case groaning, together was the sweetest sound that Jack had ever heard.


End file.
